: Re: Turning away from the 3-act structure - what guides my pacing now? Not all stories follow a 3-act structure. As an example, Les Misérables is rather episodic in its nature: first there's the

@Samaraweera193

Vote Up Vote Down

For pacing: try subdividing your three acts in more sub-points.

Are you familiar with the Seven-point Story Structure? Dan Wells explains it pretty well in this series of short videos. Basically, it is a 3-act structure where each act is subdivided into more points.

Now, instead of having: "Normal life / Conflict / Resolution", you can structure your plot following these steps:

Hook: where the story and characters are at the beginning
Plot turn 1: what changes in the life of the character
Pinch 1: what pressures the character to change
Mid point: the moment the character takes action and crosses the threshold
Pinch 2: the moment he fails for the first time
Plot turn 2: when he has the information/power to rise again
Resolution: where he eventually succeed

Note that Dan Wells does not draw a synopsys following these steps in this order: instead he deconstruct this from the end. For example, if the character ends up rich, then he may begin poor, the midpoint being the MC taking action to be rich (heist, rags-to-riches...). Then he iterates with each subpoint: what pressures the character to change his life, etc.

When each sub-point of your story is defined, it may serve as a good guide for pacing each part.

(0)

Login to post a comment!