ACT I

Math class is boring as hell.  There are only 10 different numbers that you can put together in various combinations, but there are 26 letters that you can assemble to make much more interesting ones.  You fall asleep in History class because, frankly, the stories in your head are a lot more interesting then the one you’re reading about in a textbook.  Something deep inside of you tells you that you are destined for something else, but common sense says “shut the hell up.”   So, after scratching a many idea onto diner napkins, a few people that hold a certain amount of sway in your book say “Hey, you can write!”  To which you reply with a grunt of some sort, nah, but then for some reason you find yourself enrolled in a Screenwriting course of some fashion.

The man lecturing you is a burly man, with mucho body hair, and has a down to earth yet holier than thou aura about him.  You feel the need to both reject every thing he says to you while simultaneously soaking it up.  He prattles on about the elusive “Three Act Structure.”  This is something you must know if you are to ever write a successful screenplay and as he continues on about innercaves and midpoints and elixirs, you think obviously, this does not apply to me, for I am a natural talent not bound by silly mortal rules.

Then you find yourself stuck on page thirty two.  So fine, you pick up a book on screenwriting and once again this three act structure dealio comes up.  It’s worded slightly different, but you aren’t fooled, you’re a cunning one you are, and it’s most certainly another theory on the the Three Act Structure and to be perfectly honest, it makes no more sense to you than when your writing guru was trying to explain it to you a week ago. Being the persistant hero that you are, you continue reading various books and watching “Hero Journey” movie examples like Star Wars and The Matrix.

Just before you are about to give up and go back to your old ways of writing in circles, this structure stuff clicks.  You’re not sure why, but it does.  You suddenly understand what that Vogler guy mean by “elixir” and what “Saving the Cat” is all about.  You can’t explain it, but now you have all this power floating around in your head, and you are going to use it for good.

ACT II

For all your hard work, you finally get to coast.  Planning out stories has never been easier.  You know where the story starts and where it has to end up.  It’s awesome.  It’s like a weight has been lifted off of you.  As you flex your muscles, you are able to see the Hero’s Journey in every movie you watch. ¹  You can now construct and deconstruct at the same time!  Life was never better and you start to think wow, I’m really going to make it as a screenwriter.

Then one day, this three acts thing hit you like a ton of bricks and you can’t get out from underneath it.  You start to ask why did you bring this curse upon yourself?  You start to long for the days where you could just write a script — or at least watch a movie — without having to think about what step you’re at.  You have an awesome first act written but for some reason you can’t figure out how to set up Act II so that you can go into the innermost of the innermost caves. ²What will be the sword?  What will be the ultimate Elixir? You don’t know, and honestly, you have no idea how caves and boons have to do with your romance comedy.  

You go back to your burly lecturer and ask him to solve your problems.  Well, he can’t.  Only you can.  He says you must learn and then you must forget.  What the…  He’s cryptic and annoying.  So you take your stack of paper and go back to your laptop.

But you plow through. Then the next three attempts at story you’ve hand in are rigid and formulaic.  Just like you expected.

What is a screenwriter to do?  You win some, and you lose some.  You may be able to write a text book satisfactory story but you seem to have lost all sense of originality.

So you say, screw you three act structure! You betrayed me with your false promises and now I’m going back to how I was.  But you can’t. Something is missing.  You try to write but there’s always a sense of longing that you can’t get past.  And the montage music just won’t shut up.

But then a glimmer of hope…

Act III

You pick up one of the screenwriting books that you have been using as a table leveler for the last several weeks.  It brings back good memories of discipline and structure.  You smile to yourself as you flip through the pages.  And realize, Three Act Structure is not the enemy, neither is the Hero’s Journey.

As it turns out you had the message all wrong. Three Act Structure is a only a tool.  When examining a draft (or writing one) you look at it and think hm, something is missing and that’s where the Structure is comes in.  Allow me to explain.  It dawns on you that in the middle of your script, there needs to be a change of some sort.  A big kick in the nuts.  Otherwise what are you building too?  You always want your story to be taking new and unexpected turns, and halfway through seems to be a good a place as any.  So what’s the best middle of your story?  Take a step back.  Look at your story as a whole.  Where is the story most likely to end up?  Take your cue from there, because as Michael Hauge asked in his Screenplay Mastery seminar, “How do you know if you’re halfway done with a marathon if you don’t even know where the finish line is?”

Story structure isn’t a template, it’s a guide.  Use it as a tool to help you when you’re stuck or to get the ball rolling, but don’t rely on it solely to tell your story.  Ultimately your instinct is what’s going to make the best story possible, but there’s nothing wrong with asking for help along the way.

So there, you return to your world, having it changed forever… and hopefully for the better.

The End. Roll Credits.

 

If you are interested in learning a bit more about the Three Act Structure and/or The Hero’s Journey, there are so many talented people with their own takes on the idea(s).  Browse and see which one is most accessible to you.  And if you don’t like any of them 100%, that’s fine, do what I do, and mix and match.  ³

Joseph Campbell started it all with his book Hero with a Thousand Faces.  Though, when he wrote this, cinema wasn’t around yet, but it’s where most of the other story-tellers get their ideas from.

Chris Vogler took Cambell’s book an rand with it and adapted the Hero’s Journey in The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers.

Syd Field has THE go-to book on screenwriting.  Screenplay is one of the first and still most widely used book on the craft.

Blake Campbell has an interesting and accessible take on the Hero’s Journey in his book Save the Cat (and followup book Save the Cat Goes to the Movies).  This book takes out a lot of pretension and puts the How-To book in Laymen’s terms, which I find helpful to newcomers.

These days good advice isn’t just limited to the dead tree variety.   John August and Alex Epstein both have incredibly helpful and informative blogs about screenwriting, most of which are inspired by reader’s personal questions.  Epstein has also written two books Crafty Screenwriting and Crafty TV Writing.

Last but not least, Michael Hauge is worth checking out if he is ever conducting a seminar near you.  He also has authored a couple books and has videos of his presentations available at his website.

 

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Tags: Alex Epstein, Blake Snyder, Chris Vogler, John August, Joseph Campbell, Michael Hauge, Screenwriting, Star Wars, The Hero's Journey, The Matrix, Three Act Structure