The world of film is filled with comedy and drama, sci-fi and fantasy, thriller and romance, and everything in-between, but what many don’t realize is that nearly every film boils down to the same three-act structure. This talk will explore what three-act film structure teaches us about how and why stories are constructed, and how these lessons can be incorporated into our own writing.
From the day you started writing your novel, you’ve been excited to reach the scene. The moment of confrontation between your main characters. The explosion of rage and anger (or possibly love and lust, depending on your story!) building between them from the very first page. But even though your writing is sharp, and the dialogue clear and convincing, the scene doesn’t have the emotional impact you intend. You want this scene to happen. You need it to happen. But the narrative you’ve written has left one important question unanswered: Why does it happen right now?
Whether you compose your manuscript off the cuff or take your time with a careful outline, the process of plotting a novel ultimately comes down to one simple question, repeated again and again: What happens next? Considering how to use the domino effect in fiction will help you answer that question in a compelling way.
But what specifically is it that makes the next plot beat work? How do a series of moments combine to create effective action in a story? As a professional book editor, it’s my role to analyze the stories with which I work and determine exactly why this plot beat or that action sequence is unconvincing. In this first installment of a four-part blog series on cause and effect, we’ll explore how many of our struggles with plot come down to one basic misunderstanding: Plot isn’t about action. It’s about reaction.
