Three Act Plot Structure

The 13th was a great time in preparation for Nanowrimo. Tom did a great job walking us through The Lion King and breaking it down using the three act plot structure, then we made our own stories. It was fun to see what we could come up with for story ideas in our different groups. I wanted to link to a great resource for this topic. It's the discussion Writing Excuses had on their podcast regarding this plot structure and how to use it.

Here is the link: http://www.writingexcuses.com/2008/12/01/writing-excuses-season-2-episode-8-the-three-act-structure-with-bob-defendi/

On a side note, this podcast series is amazing. It's only fifteen minutes long per episode so they don't belabor a point. I recommend following it.

Thanks, Frank.

Catherine also mentioned writingexcuses.com (in our welcome thread) in conjunction with their episode on seven-point-story-structure; and I think that Dan Well's powerpoint presentation really drives home how this amended three-act structure works and how to build it.

• Hook
  


• 
  Plot Turn 1
  


• Pinch 1
  


• 
  Midpoint
  


• Pinch 2
  


• 
  Plot Turn 2
  


• Resolution
  

Fascinatingly, this seven point structure works not only for main plots but also for sub plots; and I think that kanbanpad (free online service) might be a useful tool for doing brainstorming on these points and sub-plots. XMind is another useful tool for organizing story structure.

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. That has just revolutionized my planning. XD