: Re: How does the 3 act structure fit in a Non Linear story? I see that the 3 Act structure can be applied over almost any story, from Hamlet to Mulholland Drive, from The Matrix to Rocky. Story

@Tiffany377

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Awesome question. I'm answering from memory, so do forgive me if I veer off slightly.

As I recall, Pulp Fiction and Memento, which are both wonderful examples of non-linear narrative, both in fact have an inciting incident roughly where the 3 act structure would place it (using your example as a point of reference), but if memory serves it isn't the typical inciting incident that a hero would experience in a linear story. Normally your main character (Vincent and Jules in the case of Pulp Fiction) would be on screen and the centre of the action/dialogue. But in this case, they barely feature if at all. The incident happens in their vicinity, but to/by other people. Because of that multi-faceted approach, the main characters were in fact 'invited in the traditional sense, but as you point out the incitement we're more used to with linear storytelling happens much later. I would cite Memento but I haven't seen it in years and don't want to be very very unhelpful, but I think my response would be to figure out how you want to subvert the narrative, and what purpose it would serve. Do you want to hide a particular plot point from revelation that cannot be otherwise removed as it's integral to a scene? Or do you want something to piece together in a confusing way so as to unsettle or guide the audience in some way? I would perhaps look at Pulp Fiction with the viewpoint that it does in fact follow the 3 act structure pretty rigidly, and see how it affects your perspective. Might give you an idea of how to approach this.

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