Using the 3-Act Structure: Adjusting Expectations

Most writers use a 3-act structure and for good reason. It works.

• Act 1:
  25% of the length, sets up the story conflict and ends when the main character (MC) commits to doing something about the conflict.
• Act 2:
  50% of the length, develops and deepens the conflict and ends when the main character begins to make a last, heroic effort to solve the problem.
• Act 3:
  25% of length, is the last attempt to solve the problem and eventually ends in either success or failure (tragedy).

Top-heavy manuscripts fall over!

Somehow, in all the revisions, the structure has become top-heavy. Skimming those chapters or laying them out in a shrunken manuscript revealed that several scenes repeated; there was escalation with each repetition, so it wasn’t all bad. Still, I wondered if I could cut a considerable chunk from the first section.

Today, I cut 2000 words! Hurrah!

But, with a sinking feeling, I realized that it is still top-heavy. Could I stand to cut another 8000 words? Probably not. That would gut too much of the emotion and story.

Restructure the 3 Acts

The only answer then, is that I must restructure the story, must think about it differently, set it up differently. Fortunately, there are 29 plot variations or plot templates and at least three types of character arcs. Will one of those work?

As is, it’s set up as a quest: now in a quest, there should be character growth and often what the character sets out to discover is not what they need, not what they find. But it’s that definitely stepping into a “new world” that is bothering me in this story. The new world can’t be the fantasy world they find in the story because that now comes at about halfway through the story.

IF I consider this a story about maturation, and not a quest, then the current structure is very close. At page 21, out of 80 (single spaced, small font—just the way I like to work; I will reformat before I send it out), there is a first step of defiance of Father, a step into the world of adulthood, if you will. That’s about the 25% point and works perfectly. Likewise, the rest of the plot points fall into line.

Making this type shift is subtle: it’s not about the plot or actions, per se. Instead, it’s about setting up expectations in a reader’s mind. They intuitively understand this deep structure of dividing a story into acts, and subconsciously expect it to happen. If I set up the story, with subtle word changes, as a story of maturation, I think it will work. That crucial transition from Act 1 to Act 2 will be the move into the world of adulthood, of being responsible for your own actions, of defying parents and doing what you think is best. Act 2 will be the various problems encountered when you attempt to do things on your own, and Act 3 is the result of those actions.

My next task is to comb through the first twenty pages or so and make sure this structure is set up.

P.S. I’m still glad I cut those 2000 words. They were dead wood anyway.

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Does your Scene Pass this Checklist?

1. Where/When. (Setting) Did you orient the reader at the beginning of the scene? Does the reader know where this takes place: room in house, city, state, country, etc? Does the reader know when this takes place: time of day, season of year, place within chronology of story? If the answer to where or when is no, do you have a firm reason for leaving the reader disoriented?


Do NOT Pass Go Until You've Passed this Check List

2. Stakes. Are the stakes of the scene goal clear? If the protagonist fails, do we understand the consequences? Are the consequences substantial? Can you put more at stake, or make it matter in some way?
3. Structure. Is the structure clear, with a beginning, middle, pivot point and ending? Is the chronology of the scene clear (did you use transitions such as then, later, before, after, etc.)?
4. Actions. Are the actions of the scene interesting, and told with active verbs and great clarity?
5. Emotions. Are the emotions clearly stated or implied? Can the reader empathize with the characters? Does the reader weep or laugh, even when the character can’t or won’t?
6. Dialogue. Does the dialogue move the scene forward or is it empty chit-chat? Are there minor conflicts embedded in the conversations?
7. Language. Are you telling or showing? Does your storytelling have clarity and coherence?
8. Voice. Does the language create the proper mood, tone, voice?
9. Transition. Does the scene make a smooth transition to the next scene? If you use a scene cut, does the reader have enough information to follow the cut without getting confused?
10. Cohesive. Do all the elements work together to create a gestalt, a scene that is better than the sum of its parts?

Where does your scene fall down? Revise. You know the drill.

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Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

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Issues I Must Deal With in This Novel Revision

How’s your novel revision going, Darcy?
Big v. little issues. I work for a while to clarify in my mind the big structural issues, then work on a single chapter of the novel, making it fit that overall structure. But at some point, I lose sight of the overall picture, and I’m just doing line editing. When I finally catch myself, then I have to shift focus back to the structure of the novel. I know how it should go, but it practice, it’s messy. Frustrating.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/morganfrederick94/122138564/

Besides structural issues, what are you working on?
Feedback forces changes. As I revise each chapter, I also go through mss that my friends marked to see where they were confused or bored. This raises various issues that must be dealt with. MUST BE DEALT WITH, I remind myself sternly. I cannot ignore a comment, even if I disagree or even if I think the commenter is purely sadistic. Forcing myself to consider what the reader felt, understood, hated, etc. is important. But it’s messy. Frustrating.

Wow. Two frustrating things in this novel revision. Anything else going on?
Major plot changes. Oh, yes. There’s one major plot point in the novel coming up soon that I MUST DEAL WITH. But I have no idea what to do. It will totally change the climax of a subplot and I like that climax. I don’t want to change it. I don’t want to re-imagine it. I know that I MUST DEAL WITH IT, but I’m waiting until I get there next week. Still, not knowing the solution is messy. Frustrating.

Can you verbalize the issues you are facing in your novel revision? It helps me to be able to say, this is the problem I must deal with. General complaining helps, too. It does! It gets out the frustration, so when I get to the actual writing of the novel, I can make that shift to right-brained writing and get so involved in what I’m doing that I lose track of time. In that mental state, there are no frustrations, there’s only the writing.

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Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

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When you’re thinking about writing a picture book, the structure if important. With about fourteen double-page spreads, it’s time to turn to Shakespeare for some help.

Sonnets and Picture Books

I think you can compare picture book structure to the structure of poetry. For example, sonnets have 14 lines, picture books can have 14 double-page spreads. So, taking a sonnet as an example of structure, you can imitate one of these sonnet structures

1. The Italian Sonnet consists of an octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six lines)
   • Octave
     • Spreads 1-4 Set up character
     • Spreads 5-8 Problem stated
   • Sestet
     • Spreads 9-11 Character tries to solve the problem.
     • Spreads 12-14 The payoff

   Or, think of it as the beginning, middle, end, payoff. Or problem, attempts to solve, failure and re-commitment to try, payoff.
   Notice that in this structure, there is a pivot point–things change drastically–between spreads 8 and 9. There are two minor pivots, too, between 4-5 and 11-12. These are good places for a twist to turn the plot in a different direction.

2. The Shakespearean Sonnet Three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and a couplet.
   • Spreads 1-4 Problem stated
   • Spreads 5-8 Attempts to solve problem
   • Spreads 9-12 Problem solved
   • Spreads 13-14 The payoff

   The main pivot point is between 12 and 13; minor pivot points occur between 4-5, 8-9. Check the structure of your story and its pivot points to see if it is the strongest it can be.

ACTION POINTS

Consider if this structure would work for your picture book. If it’s close, see if you can adjust the text and page breaks for this structure. If it doesn’t work with this structure, then go to the next lesson.

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Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

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