Jodi Whitehurst

I heard the name K.M. Weiland at the Arkansas Writer’s Conference in June 2023. She wrote a book titled Secrets of Story Structure. So far, this is the best book I have found for plotting a novel using the three-act structure. I am currently utilizing this framework to write a young adult novel. Grasping the three-act structure removes the veil from the mystery of novel writing. The ideal of the genius fiction writer spending hours in a coffee shop or home office is torn down. I had a realization– Hey, I just need to sit my butt in a seat long enough to write 60,000- 100,000 words. Oh, and they need to be amazing.

The first act is essentially exposition and the first pivot point. You establish what is “normal” in your made-up world and let the reader get to know the characters. Be careful. This is where the reader abandons your boring book or binge-reads it. In other words, it should seize the imagination. The first pivot point or “point of no return” occurs at the end of the first act, and it involves some earth shaking external event along with a meaningful personal realization. The narrative drives forward.

The second act involves the longest section. I am there now in my book, and I am trudging through. The first act spilled out of me; the second act is being squeezed painfully out of me. Often subplots are revealed in the second act, and new supporting characters are introduced. This grants an opportunity for minor events to test the fortitude of the protagonist. Finally at the midpoint, the main character experiences an event or a deep reflection that alters the way they view themselves. The midpoint is a dividing point in the book. After this, the plot develops quickly, and the protagonist has become a character of action.

The third act begins with dramatic movement and continues that pattern until that nail-biting climax. At this point, the reader should be unable to put the book down. Finally, there is some resolution to the conflict and the characters digest the events as they determine what life should look like from that point.

Following a pattern, like the Three-act Structure, has helped me to pull my head out of the tedious act of writing to see the overall scheme of where I need to go from there. It’s a road map to avoid getting lost along the way.