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MacDuff |
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Been Around
Location Beautiful BC Posts 745 Posts Per Day 0.10 |
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George Willson |
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Of The Ancients
Location Broken Arrow Posts 3591 Posts Per Day 0.50 |
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MacDuff |
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Been Around
Location Beautiful BC Posts 745 Posts Per Day 0.10 |
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Martin |
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Been Around Location Frankfurt, Germany Posts 607 Posts Per Day 0.09 | This is probably the best overview of the 3 act structure I've read. Plotting out my story beats under each of these headings helped me tighten up the stucture of my last script. It also helped me find the beats I was missing. ACT ONE THE CONDITION OF THE ACTION SETUP: CHARACTER WITH A PROBLEM Establishes who the main character is and what the characterâs internal and external problems are. Also establishes the setting, period, tone, style and point of view of the story. CATALYST: The SETUP: CHARACTER WITH A PROBLEM sequence usually contains the CATALYST which is the first hint of what the main dilemma will be because of the first, usually innocuous, moment where the plot begins to act on the character and launch the story. NEW OPPORTUNITY / PREDICAMENT: Establishes a new problem which steers the story in a new direction and hints at bigger obstacles to come as the hero struggles to deal with the new disruption to his life. CAUSE OF THE ACTION INCITING INCIDENT: The NEW OPPORTUNITY / PREDICAMENT sequence usually contains the INCITING INCIDENT which is the first significant event where the plot overtly acts on the character and completely disrupts and alters the characters life. The Inciting Incident contains the roots of the cause of the action. TURNING POINT: POINT OF ATTACK: An event caused by the antagonist that forces the character to take new action and defines the POINT OF ATTACK where the character "attacks" the problem and creates the ACTION that is the unfolding drama. This redefines the heroâs general wants/needs into a specific goal and sends the story in a new direction. The POINT OF ATTACK is an action taken by the hero which raises the Major Dramatic Question that is the primary concern of the plot. ACT TWO THE ACTION PROGRESS: NEW HIGHER OBSTACLES: The hero makes progress toward their goal. There are new conflicts and higher obstacles introduced that places the characterâs success in doubt. MOVING FORWARD METAPHORE: ARC DEFINITION: The PROGRESS: NEW HIGHER OBSTACLES sequence usually contains the MOVING FORWARD METAPHORE: ARC DEFINITION which contains overtones about the characterâs growth and hints at the outcome of the story. POINT OF NO RETURN: The POINT OF NO RETURN is a point in the story where the hero is confronted with an obstacle that is so large that if he continues he will risk so much that he will be unable to go back to the relative safety he was in before and must follow his new path to its inevitable conclusion. Itâs a point of decision and action that defines a very low point in the story where any hope of success for the character seems small and the answer to the MDQ is in doubt. POST POINT OF NO RETURN: A beat immediately after the POINT OF NO RETURN that doesnât necessarily advance the story but it does illustrate the characterâs change because of the PONR. This beat is usually an up beat to contrast the down beat of the PONR. COMPLICATIONS, HIGHER STAKES AND SUBPLOTS: The goal is harder to achieve than the hero thought and is tested more than he ever expected. Subplots develop and further complicate the heroâs path to his goals and raise the stakes. CULMINATION TOWARD THE MAIN PLOT: The conclusion of one dramatic tension and the start of a new one. The hero moves inexorably closer to his goal and discovers new info and better understanding of the nature of the opposition before him. The antagonist is aware of the heroâs actions and takes actions to prevent the hero from learning the truth about the conflict and obstacles the hero is trying to overcome. The focus shifts from subplots to the main plot. TURNING POINT: ALL HOPE IS LOST: The greatest set back of the story for the hero. It appears as if achieving the goal is impossible but the hero has no choice but to try because he will have an even worse fate should he abandon his quest now. The heroâs internal needs/flaws are confronted defining the heroâs arc. The hero discovers a hidden truth about the nature of the obstacle and conflict to his goal which sets a new path for the hero that will lead to an inevitable conclusion and answer the MDQ. ACT THREE RESULT OF THE ACTION FINAL PUSH TOWARD THE MAIN PLOT: The intensification of the heroâs quest for his goal that will result in getting something new or different from what he originally set out to achieve. The actions of the hero set into motion events that contain the answers to the MDQ and the roots of the result of the action. FINAL CONFRONTATION: The hero has reached the end of the path that has brought him to his goal. The only thing standing in his way is one obstacle that is greater and unlike any faced before. In this moment the hero must finally confront his internal flaws/needs and be changed in order to achieve the external goals and finally answer the MDQ. DENOUMENT AND RESOLUTION: The final outcome of the story and how the heroâs life has been changed because of it. | ||||
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awk |
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New Posts 16 Posts Per Day 0.00 |
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Harry_Tuttle |
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New
Posts 35 Posts Per Day 0.01 | Quoted from bert George gives a pretty thorough treatment.If you don't have the patience for that, I heard it like this (somewhere...): Act 1:Get your hero up a tree. Act 2:Throw rocks at him. Act 3:Get him down. An additional thing I read recently on this topic also struck me as something to think about.Each individual SCENE should contain roughly the same structure; a set up, complications, and a resolution, with conflict of some sort between the characters involved every step of the way. I like this! I also believe that whenever possible you should start a scene in the middle. If two people are having a conversation in a diner assume that they have been there a while and didpensed all the small talk. Begin the conversation in the middle and let the dialog reveal what may have already been discussed. | ||||
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Breanne Mattson |
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Old Timer Posts 1347 Posts Per Day 0.20 |
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EBurke73 |
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New Posts 124 Posts Per Day 0.02 |
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Sandra Elstree. |
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Of The Ancients
Location Bowden, Alberta Posts 3664 Posts Per Day 0.60 |
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Harry_Tuttle |
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Posts 35 Posts Per Day 0.01 | Steven King's On Writing is the best most straightforward book on some of these ideas. Read it. It'll learn ya! | ||||
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dvshrma |
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New Posts 1 Posts Per Day 0.00 | it's been 17 years since George posted this, and here i am 17 years later learning from it even after long gone of george, its's his legacy he left behind | ||||
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