Plotting Along


When it comes to plotting, there are as many ways to plot as there are types of stories. Even just in fiction, there are about a million different story types. But the biggest thing is knowing what you want to write about. Figure out your overall story idea and go from there. If you don't know, that's ok. This is why Nano is great for people who write by the seat of their pants as a way to figure out their story. 

That being said, we talked about the five point structure last time, so today I'm gonna explain one of the other classic structures for novels: the Three Acts. The three act structure is essentially the Beginning, Middle, and End, but each section is broken down into what makes them strong and essential to the other parts. (I found a great, simple breakdown here at Novel-Writing-Help.com, which is what I'm referring to in this blog post.) 

Put most simply, Act 1 is where the MC decides to act on a goal. Act 2 is the action, and Act 3 is where we see the consequences. Now, that's super simple, so let's go into a bit more detail. I'm going to share the 10 point structure that I found at Novel-Writing-Help, so make sure to check them out for more info. But, in my words:

Act 1 - Beginning
1. Start with the normal. 2. Something happens. 3. Main character decides to act

Act 2 - Middle (often the bulk of the story)
4. First mini plot. The challenge begins! 5. More mini plots as MC pushes on, gets pushed back, and so on. 6. MC hits rock bottom (often called the dark night of the soul moment)

Act 3 - End
7. MC has time to react and process. 8. Rebirth or epiphany moment. MC changes. 9. Seize the prize, achieve the goal. the MC wins whatever showdown they were working towards. 10. Settle into a new normal. Maybe some things changed besides the MC, maybe not.

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