Kicking off the blog section of this website, I thought it was a good idea to record some basic thoughts about my creative process — the techniques I use, the concepts that I find helpful.

During the early years of my creative life I aspired to be a screenwriter and spent many years trying to master a three act structure. Ultimately I found it unworkable as I always struggled with the second act. Setting up a good story in the first act, I could do, and generally landing the plane in the third act wasn’t too hard, but crafting a compelling plot in the middle was always difficult.

When I returned to long-form narratives recently, I dug into the five act structure and found it much more helpful for my creative process. It helped me understand what sort of events should happen in that middle-of-the-story wasteland.

There are plenty of resources out there that can explain the five act structure better than I can, but I thought it might be helpful to share my bare bones five act framework that I use when I’m trying to break a long-form story.

I’ve also incorporated elements from Dan Harmon’s story cycle into my framework. I find the stages in his system to be good for character arcs, but not necessarily good for developing plot events. Nevertheless, it’s good to remember that character drives plot and plot affects character.

First Act – Establishing the starting point

• Introduce the protagonist and their familiar circumstances. We are going to follow them through a narrative journey, but we first must know where they’re starting from. They may not be likeable, but they need to be identifiable.
• Establish the protagonist’s Desire and Need. Your character must want something, or they won’t take action. They should also have a weakness that the story may be able to help them address. The bank robber wants to steal money, but needs a father figure in his life.
• An inciting event. Your protagonist started in a familiar situation but something happened to change this. This may not be the overall driving force of your story, but it causes the story to start. Luke Skywalker is a bored farmboy, then two droids crashed on his planet.

Second Act – Rising Action

• The protagonist enters an unfamiliar situation. Their Desire and/or Need colors how they respond to the inciting event and move the story forward.
• Expand the scope of the story. Either a subplot begins or the protagonist discovers there is something more to the situation than he realized.
• Establish the opposing force in the story — what is keeping the protagonist from accomplishing his goal. This could be an external force, like law enforcement or a rival suitor, or an internal force like crippling self doubt.
• First turning point. In my view, what sets apart the five act structure is the existence of three turning points in the story. This first turning point is an event that drives the action towards the Climax, the point of no return.
• The protagonist experiences a setback. Whether this event is the turning point or not, the protagonist must understand that things are not going to go as smoothly as they thought.

Third Act – Regroup and Advance

• The protagonist adapts to unfamiliarity and takes steps to overcome it.
• The protagonist overcomes the initial setback, adjusts their plan of action, and drives ahead towards their goal.
• Circumstances become complicated, subplots affect the protagonist’s actions. The opposing force makes headway.
• The Climax. A point of no return. The protagonist confronts their objective. This is the second, and most important turning point of the story.
• The protagonist experiences a victory, but with consequences.

Fourth Act – Dark Night of the Soul

• Action falls. Forces regress.
• The protagonist confronts the consequences of their victory, sizes up any unfinished business. The protagonist determines whether their goal was reached, their Desire accomplished, or if the goal has shifted.
• The protagonist understands their Need and contemplates whether or not they will be able to address it in this story.
• Third turning point. An event drives the action towards its final conclusion.

Fifth Act – Resolution

• A final confrontation. The primary conflict is ended, loose ends are tied up. Victory is celebrated, defeat is accepted.
• The protagonist returns to familiarity, but changed by the experience.
• Denouement. Character issues are resolved, at least for now.