A Gentle Introduction to Story Structure

Structure is foundational to telling a good story. Although the two elements do go hand in hand, plot is not the same as structure.

You can think of it like the layers of a quilt. You’ve got the colorful outside fabrics and the patterns that make people say ‘that’s a beautiful quilt. ’ That would be the plot.

Then, you have the fluffy white batting that fills the quilt. This is stuff that nobody sees in the final quilt and that only fellow-quiltmakers probably ever think about, but if you didn’t have that batting, your quilt would not be functional. It would only be two floppy pieces of fabric attached by a lot of useless string. It would not be warm and snuggly. The stitches that make the patterns in the fabric, the quilting, would have nothing to hold onto and nothing to give form to the fabric. The batting – that’s your structure.

The vast majority of stories, whether in film or writing, use the three-act structure. This structural form dates back to the earliest Greek plays, and society has used it ever since.

Can I Tell My Story Without the Three-Act Structure?

Yes, of course you can. A few successful modern stories do not have a classic structure. There are non-linear stories like Memento and episodic stories like the Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. There are a couple of other strategies.

However, I strongly suggest that you learn to work within the three-act structure before you veer from it. An artist can break the rules, but it is best if that artist already knows what the rules are. Picasso learned classical art before moving to Cubism. Likewise, you should learn the best practices of the writing craft before you shoot off and start doing your own thing.

You might be tempted to think that using structure could make your story formulaic. Nothing could be further from the truth. Your story will still be unique due to your plot, characters, setting, writing style, and details. In Story Structure, William Bernhardt says, “No one criticized Beethoven because all his symphonies have four movements. For that matter, no one criticized Picasso because he knew how to mix paints to get the color he wanted. All art has structure, so there’s no reason to shy away from it.”

So yes, you do need to use a three-act structure, at least as a novice – but here’s a surprise! In a longer work, like a novel, you can write as many acts as you like, but three is the minimum. In these cases, you may count acts based upon the number of turning points – the points where everything changes.

Three-Act Story Structure in a Nutshell

Act One  – The Beginning

The beginning should take up around 20 to 25% of your story. This is a ballpark figure. It could be 15%, although I wouldn’t go much past 25%. You need to have room for the rest of your story. It can’t all be build-up. Act One should include your introduction, the inciting incident, and the first plot point (along with the build-up to the first plot point).

Inciting Incident

The inciting incident should occur near the beginning of your story. You’ll probably want to introduce your characters and the setting before you begin inciting. The inciting incident throws chaos into the protagonist’s life, and if you don’t introduce the story world, then your readers won’t know what balance is being tipped, what the stakes are, or why your protagonist gets so upset. We’ll go deeper into the inciting incident in a future article when we cover beginnings.

Plot Point One

Plot Point One occurs about 20% to 25% of the way through your story. The percentage is a guideline, not a hard and fast rule. This plot point is sometimes referred to as the point of no return. It is when your protagonist enters into the adventure world and fully commits to the story goal.

Act Two – The Middle

Act Two starts directly after Plot Point One and contains the Midpoint, Plot Point Two, and the bridging scenes. 

Plot Point Two – The Midpoint

Your Midpoint should occur around halfway through the story. It is when there is a shift in a new direction. Perhaps the protagonist reevaluates the goal or obtains new information. Sometimes the stakes are raised, or there is a personal transformation. Regardless of the exact cause, your protagonist begins to look at things in a new light. This creates story tension and helps propel the story forward.

Plot Point Three 

Plot Point Three occurs at around the 75% mark of your story. This is the point where all seems lost. The protagonist might experience a loss or a revelation, and they will be at their lowest point. It seems like the idea of obtaining the story goal is a pipedream. From here on out, your protagonist and your antagonist are in a race to the final confrontation – the Climax.

Act Three – The End

You guessed it. This final act begins directly after Plot Point Three and consists of the Climax and the Denouement.

Climax

Your protagonist has a final big blowout with the opposing character or force that prevents them from obtaining the story goal. Yes, there does need to be a confrontation. No, the protagonist does not need to win. This occurs near the end of the story, just before the denouement. 

Denouement

This fancy French word means ‘the action of untying’. After the climax, it is the job of the author to ‘untie’ the plot you have created. All storylines need to be unraveled, mysteries revealed, and problems resolved – for better or worse. This is where you say goodbye to your reader, sniff a bit, and then move on to another story (or to the umpteenth revision).

A Note to Pantsers

Yes, you need to use a three-act structure as well, however, you can write your rough draft in your standard pantser fashion and then revise to fit the three-act structure. I think this is the long way around, but if that’s how you do your best writing, then you do you, boo!

Are you confused? Overwhelmed? Is everything as clear as mud? Never fear; the next few articles will delve into plot and offer a couple of ways to tie plot and structure together. Then, we will get to a practical method of outlining. But first, I think we’ll go over how to write an effective scene.

So for now…Happy Writing!