So first off I’m going to encourage you watch Lindsay Ellis’s amazing video about How Three-Act Screenplays Work and the breakdowns of how movies use them because it is simply brilliant:

You can also view it on Youtube

Okay, you’ve watched it right?

Now I’m going to write it all out so I can better understand it (because I’m a writer and not a film critic).

First point – the three acts of a three-act structure don’t have to be of any particular length. Some works might have really long first acts which then puts the midpoint at 60-70% of the way through the story. Act breaks are not a defined by length but function.

Second point – Tension is really important in a story. Individual acts and sequences have tension but the overall narrative itself has its own tension. The beginning and end of an Act marks a change or shift in tension. 

Typical three-act structure has eight sequences in three acts. A SEQUENCE is the build and release of minor tension which also contributes to the overall ACT tension which then contributes to the main narrative tension of the ENTIRE STORY. So lots of layers like an onion.

But central conflict (even in an ensemble piece with lots of subplots and character arcs) and the momentum of the plot is generally going to be pushed by one character.

To figure out the Sequence tension, Lindsay had a great shortcut by assigning each Sequence a question and then noting that the tension is relieved when that question is answered.

Act I

• Point of Attack – gets the ball rolling and may have nothing to do with the protagonist, focuses on the universe, creates story element for the protagonist to react to with that reaction becoming the inciting incident, may be outside of the protagonists control or even knowledge
• Sequence 1 – explains laws of universe, status quo of protagonist, flaw or desire which makes protagonist feel incomplete
• Inciting incident – sets up central conflict of the story displayed through the main character’s motivation (in romance this is almost always where the protagonist decide to win the romantic love interest), marks the end of first Sequence, conflict pushes protagonist to do something (and eventually make an important decision at the end of Act I), the first Sequence tension is resolved by how the protagonist reacts to the inciting incident
• Sequence 2 – builds the creation of the main narrative tension of the overall story, this locks the protagonist in or sends them out on a quest (small and personal or large and sweeping)
• Lock In – character has been set on the path of the story and they can’t go back to the way things were.

Act II

• Sequence 3 – quest makes ground, hero achieves a milestone or learns something important
• Sequence 4 – buildup to the Midpoint, hero makes first serious attempt to achieve their goal
• MidPoint – changes the aim of the hero’s quest, there’s a disruption in the hero’s life making them question decisions and assumptions and goals, main tension of Act II has not been resolved but something about it has fundamentally changed, ups the overall story tension by shifting it but does not resolve it
• Sequence 5 – builds on the change and must add momentum and tension, usually focuses on a subplot or secondary character backstory
• Sequence 6 – protagonist encounters their biggest challenge yet and hero slumps to lowest point
• Protagonist’s want (internal motivation) drives the main tension which is resolved at the end of the second act
• Main culmination – resolution of the main tension, everything is hopeless, where you find out whodunnit (brought to justice in Act III), big betrayal, deceit is uncovered

Act III

• Sequence 7- hero must make a decision which defines their character growth and creates the new tension for Act III which is related to the main overall story tension but now different (can’t come out of nowhere)
• Twist – shifts the focus of the third act tension to something more grand (like saving the world) or more intimate and personal (like saving the love interest’s life)
• Sequence 8 – climax which resolves the final tension, protagonist’s need (which defines character growth) resolves the tension of the third act, couple finally gets together in romance, and protagonist grows in some way so that they are the opposite of they way they were in Sequence 1

So that was my breakdown. It’s definitely food for thought on how I’ll structure my next novel.