Story Magic

99 - Acts and act breaks

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Today, Emily & Rachel talk about story structure acts and act breaks.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

  • What are acts
  • Different story structures (3 act vs 4 act vs 5) 
  • The purpose act breaks serve
  • Breaking down some examples

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Rachel:

Hey, writers. Welcome back to Story Magic, the podcast that will help you write a book you're damn proud of.

Emily:

I'm Emily.

Rachel:

And I'm Rachel.

Emily:

And today we are talking about acts. Story Acts, Act 1, Act 2, Act 3, Act 4 or 5.

Rachel:

However many Acts you have, we're gonna talk about them.

Emily:

And specifically, we're going to talk about where they start and where they end. Yeah, because I think, like, everybody understands that a story has a beginning and a middle and an end. But I think one of the, at least for me, when I started writing, one of the biggest questions that I had was, okay, but where. Where does act two start? How do I know that I'm in Act two? Where do. Where's that line? What determines what that line is and how do I set that up? Well, and I think if you set it up poorly, you run the risk of, you know, your character not having agency or not setting up their character arc correctly. So we're going to talk today about kind of how. How act breaks are used to tie your plot and your character arcs together and different story structures, how they work in those different, different ways.

Rachel:

Yeah, I think that's like what you just said as far as how they tie your plot and your character together. Like, the first time they actually understood what are acts in storytelling, like in fiction writing was huge. I mean, okay, so, you know, I went to school for English literature. I read many, many, many books and I did not get this until we started being like, critique partners to together and like, starting our business. Because in. In like the regular old, you know, in eighth grade literature class, you learned about the rising action and the climax and the denouement and like, all those different pieces of story. But then it doesn't. To me, it never, like, applied to anything. It just felt like, what. What does that mean? What are you talking about? So when I went. When I went to go, like, write my first book or like, write my first couple books, books where I'm just putting words on a paper with chapters. No non existent. Like, did not. Like, it just kept going, you know, like, the story just started and then it kept going and then it kept going and then all of a sudden it was like the end and you're like, what? So that I feel like, as far as me being a pantser, understanding how act break works, acts worked, and act breaks work helped me give structure to my story without an outline. That's what I'm trying to get at is like, you can still use this as a structure tool. That was really helpful for me, as a structure tool to understand how they worked at a time when I was like, the outline is the thing you need to write a book. It's like, no, you don't.

Emily:

No, you don't. Just kind of. So what is an act break? I don't know that we've actually like defined it as like what, what it is. I think I. So I'll take a stab and see what you think of my definition. So I. In my. The way that I look at story, an act break is a point in time. It's like a moment when a character. It's usually the choice moment of a scene. When a character chooses how they're going to address like what their plan is going to be for how they're going to address a major plot problem. So it's the plan that kind of guides them throughout the entirety of the act. And then at the end of that act, they'll make another choice. Like that plan either fails or succeeds or whatever. And they have to make another plan that's going to launch them into whatever the next act of the story is.

Rachel:

Yeah.

Emily:

Would you say that's generally the case regardless of your act structure?

Rachel:

Yeah, I think so. I mean, so we have an act being the chunk of story. Like it is a section of story that is a story as a whole is broken up into pieces. One of those pieces being called an act. And then an act break is when you, your character is faced with something like a choice moment. They need to, they need to shift. Like I always think of them as just changes, shifts, big shifts in the story. And that results in exactly what you said, where a character's making a decision to do something differently, like to do a different plan or to have, you know, to embrace a different goal. They then they do that thing for the next act and then there's another shift like the something happens where that thing is no longer pursuable for XYZ reasons. And so they have to shift and do something different.

Emily:

Yeah, yeah.

Rachel:

And typically like you have stories, I think most of the time we see three or four act stories. Save the Cat, which is the story structure that we often talk about has. It's called a three act structure. But it's so tricky because it breaks actually two pieces and it's a four act structure. So whenever someone's like, I don't like Save the Cat because I want to use a four act structure, I'm like, Save the Cat is a four act structure, but it's packaged as a three act structure anyway. So like, I think however you want to look at the story structures that you are using, there will likely be 3, 4. And I've seen 5. But like my. I've never written a five act structure, but I think I've seen that in non western stories more often. Like non, you know, westernized storytelling. I don't know enough about it to like.

Emily:

Yeah.

Rachel:

Speak heavily to it. But it's this. It still is the same premise of like, it's a change, it's a shift in the story. We're going a slightly different direction now and we're like accomplishing a slightly different purpose.

Emily:

Yeah. So if you think of. So for the purposes of this episode conversation, we'll stay within the confines of three, four acts.

Rachel:

Yeah.

Emily:

Because that's kind of where our zone of genius lies. And they're basically the same thing.

Rachel:

Yeah.

Emily:

It's just the only difference is that in a three act structure, your midpoint is just the middle of your second act versus in a four act structure, the midpoint starts its own act.

Rachel:

Yeah.

Emily:

And so the idea is that you have. Your character is pursuing a story goal. Right. So that's gonna encompass a majority of the story. So I think that's where the three act structure can be helpful. Because in that second act you have one goal.

Rachel:

Right.

Emily:

Katniss is trying to win the Hunger Games.

Rachel:

Right.

Emily:

That is her. That is her goal. And so that goal goes through in a four act structure, what would be acts two and three. But in a three act structure, it's just act two. So that's kind of the. That's where the plot, that's where the main meat of your story lives. Where the main plot problem lives. Your character going about how they're gonna, you know, solve whatever the problem is that all kind of lives in Act 2 or Act 2 and 3, depending on how you're looking at it. Yeah. And so the plans within that act, and oftentimes within Act 3 as well, unless you have a major goal shift, are all based around like how they're going to achieve that goal. They're just different plans for how to do it. So the act breaks are when they establish what their plans are for, how they're going to achieve that overarching story goal.

Rachel:

Yeah. So if you've not listened to episode 14, which is pivot point plans, I highly recommend listening to that immediately after this one, because pivot point plans, like, kind of break this down in, in the more specific like, pursuing of goals, pursuing of plans discussion. But that is like one of my favorite episodes we ever done. And I think, I think like, learning about what acts do, why they're there, and how you transition from one act to another, plus pivot point plans. To me, that clicked. Oh, that's what plot is. Cool. Now I know, like, how to fill 90,000 words. Where in my case it's usually more like 120,000, 140,000 words. But now I know how to fill a book's worth of pages of things is like, okay, we've got acts, act breaks, and then pivot plans. That was really helpful.

Emily:

Yeah.

Rachel:

So that's episode 14. Go listen to that now. Yeah, wait, go ahead.

Emily:

So. So I think something else that's really helpful to think about in this, in terms of act breaks is character arcs. Because act breaks are where character arcs are kind of. They're like the boundaries around your character's arc. Yeah. So we have lots and lots and lots of resources on what a character arc is. But. And like that. Delve into the details of that. But at its very, like, basic level. Right. A character arc is about a character changing internally. And so what that means is that they are. They believe something at the beginning of the story. They shed that belief because it's flawed. It's harming them. It's keeping them from achieving their goals. They have to shed that belief in order to adopt a new, healthy belief that helps them then achieve their goals. And they do that by making lots of mistakes. Right. They have a flawed belief that guides them to make all of these mistakes that have these consequences that come back to bite them. And then eventually they have to face the fact that, like, it's them that's the problem. It's their beliefs and the actions that they're taking because of those beliefs that need to change. And so as soon as they change, then they're able to achieve their goals. And so your act breaks are. They're sort of moments when your character kind of defines what belief they're going to let drive their actions. So in a three act structure, act two begins when your character makes a plan for how they're going to. How they're going to address the plot's problem, but in a flawed way, the wrong way. And then the end of Act 2 is when they've changed and now they enact a plan that is going to. That is based on the right beliefs that are going to help them achieve their goals in Act 3. So it's kind of like they're like the beginning and the end of their arc. And in a four act structure, that just. It's just the breaks for act two and act four. There's really no difference. It's just kind of where you set that boundary.

Rachel:

Yeah. So I think earlier you were talking about, what does it look like for that, for a character to decide what to do and then do something, you know, like, that is our transition. That is our. Our breaking moment. And the more we're talking, the more I'm like, I kind of do want to talk about Blood in the Water a little bit, because I think it has very clear act breaks at the beginning. So Blood in the Water is my first book, and I'll break down it as an example. Not because it's like, particularly. By the way, I forgot to tell you this. I got two most recent reviews, very positive reviews, and I was dying laughing because both of them from different people were like, was this book great literature? No. But did I love it? Yes. Like, both of them were like, this is not fantastic literature. But I loved it. And I'm like, hey, you know what?

Emily:

I called that a win.

Rachel:

That's my goal. Exactly. So, everyone, high praise for this book. It is not excellent literature, but it.

Emily:

Is excellent craft, though.

Rachel:

No, it's not. No. It's not on purpose anyway. But this. It has a good example because I think the plot is very clear in. In what I'm about to say. Like, grain of salt, folks. The reviews are in.

Emily:

Not excellent literature, but a lot of fun.

Rachel:

Super fun. Very enjoyable. Five stars. Thank you. Thank you for the review. Okay, so Blood in the Water starts out with this mafia princess who's just, like, living a very spoiled life. And then the catalyst. So the inciting incident in Act 1 is when her childhood love, the man that she wants to marry, murders her father. So, like, right off the bat, like, we have a. Oh, my God, my life is completely changed now because the guy that I want to marry has murdered my father. And now also, he's trying to kill me. So what do I do? So if you're looking at, like, the act one that Leona faces in the beginning of Blood in the Water, we have that inciting incident, and then we have this little period before the act break, which is called the debate. And that whole period is Leona being like, what do I do now? She's on the run, her bodyguard's with her, and they're both like, we have to escape. We have to get out of here. And they think, like, Leona's kind of, you know, emotionally numb because her dad was just murdered right in front of her but she basically is like, what my. What am I supposed to do about this? And so it really is like a full debate beat because she's thinking, I have no idea what to do with my life. But then her bodyguard gets injured and that kind of like snaps her out of this funk to think, I cannot let Max, who is the. The childhood love that murdered her father, I cannot let Max get away with this. I want revenge. So at the end of debate, she chooses, I'm going to pursue revenge against Max rather than run away and hide. So you have this really big shift in her internal thinking of like, I am just a spoiled mafia princess who only ever wanted to get married to. Then like the plot smacks her in her face to be like, I have to do something about this. I can't just let us both die, both being her and her bodyguard. I can't just let us die. I have to get revenge. She's also thinking like, revenge will make me feel better because it sucks to watch your father get murdered. So she wants to be feel better. So when she goes like, there is a break very clear at the end of the debate beat going into break into two, which are the structure names in Save the Cat where she. Her goals instantly change from running to fighting. And then she. Then she has a plan for how she is going to fight. And that plan is, I'm gonna track down a group of assassins that can murder Max for me. Yeah. So she spends then the first half of Act 2, so this would be Act 2A, trying to find the shadows, this group of assassins, and hire them so that they can get revenge for her. Then the midpoint is when her bodyguard Cass gets kidnapped or like he gets taken. So then her goals shift a little bit to where she needs to get him back. So then the second half of Act 2 or Act 2B, which in Save the Cat, it's Act 2B. In a four act structure, it would be Act 3, that's all about getting cast back. And then she spends time doing that and we learn that like, her father was murdered for really good reasons and like, maybe revenge is not exactly what she should be trying to get.

Emily:

Yeah.

Rachel:

So at the end of that, at the end of that act, she's coming to terms with like new information, what she should do next, and realizes like, okay, I have like a future after this. What. What should that be? And I'd rather choose my future than like only focus on revenge against Max. So then there's a huge, again, shift in plan, a huge change in her thought Processes about, like, what do I want? And that's coming out of this fact of, like, okay, well, revenge won't heal you, but, like, securing your future will at least give you a path to walk forward. So then it becomes about the shadows. So anyway, I think she has really clear act breaks like her as a character. Cause she. She changes so much to, like, what am I going to do about this new thing? And then, like, another thing happens. What am I going to do about this new thing? And then we spend a period of time, like, pursuing that new thing, tying that to her character arc. Those first two plans are, like, flawed. And this is where I don't. Like, this is where I'm like, it's not excellent literature. Right? Like, because, like, getting, like, pursuing the shadows to get revenge for her. Yes. Flawed plan. She's very selfish. Getting Cass back. I think we all want that. Right? Like, it's not like that plan is flawed. It's her reasons for wanting to do that. Like, obviously, she loves her bodyguard and she wants to save him, but also she's not necessarily thinking, like, I will save him, and then we'll run off together and this will no longer be a problem. She's like, no, I want him back. And then I still want to kill Max. You know, like, she's not left that. So, like, looking at the plot of that book, I'll be very honest. I understand that. Like, I probably could have made her second half plan a little bit more flawed, but I didn't want to. Yeah, I didn't want to. You know, like, I get to choose what that looks like. So long, long example. But.

Emily:

And that's where, like, this stuff could get tricky. Like, sometimes it's not always cut and dry. Like, for. For behind the Crimson Fearn. Fearn has, like, a half of an arc change. Yeah, like, she does change. So she starts off lying because her. Her internal obstacle belief is that she doesn't believe. Like, she believes that people will love you for basically, like, what they want you to be versus, like, who you actually are. So she's, like, always lying to everybody. She's a con artist, and she's never, like, accepting who she is. And so her biggest. In Act 2, she kind of chooses to lie to everybody, including the guy that she loves. And then at the end of Act 2, she comes to terms with accepting who she is. Like, she sheds her shame over her past and the decisions that she made and the situation she's been put into. She sheds all of that, and she kind of embraces who she actually is, but she still doesn't tell him the truth. Yeah. So like it's, you know, it's not always super cut and dry. But I do think it's really important when you're writing to like, look at those acts and be like, okay, what is, what beliefs are driving their plans of action? Are those plans of action strong enough to last for the entire act? Because I think that's what, that's what's really important is that whatever it is that they decide to do at the, at the act break needs to be strong enough to carry all the way to the end of the act because otherwise it's going to feel like your character is just like changing plans willy nilly all the time. And what you want is that like driving tension and action as they go towards, you know, as they implement a plan and move towards a goal and we see them taking steps in that direction and those steps are kind of accumulating towards something. Right. Like you can kind of feel how that builds tension, builds direction and momentum for the story. And if you pivot too often, you're just going to kind of kill that. So. So yeah, and then you want to make sure that you're really thinking about, okay, what belief is driving this plan of action and if that's a bad belief, what are the consequences of it? Right, yes. In the cast situation it's like, eh, it might not be a terrible reason that she has, you know, for, for going to save her bodyguard, that's fine, but there's not. So there's not going to be as many negative consequences.

Rachel:

Right.

Emily:

To her decision to do that versus like other decisions that she's made in the book that might have negative consequences. So you just want to think about the consequences of the choices and plans that they're deciding to implement and then make sure that those consequences are the consequences you want those decisions to have. Like, are you saying they're making the right decision or are you saying they're making the wrong decision by the consequences that result?

Rachel:

Yeah, yeah. I think like your point about making sure that these goals are sustainable across the whole act is really important because this is the problem I'm currently facing in my third draft where I wrote Act 1 and I'm like, I know exactly what Act 1 needs to be.

Emily:

It.

Rachel:

It's in this direction. It's very clear in my head. And then I got to Act 2 and like Act 2A. So the first half of Act 2 that I'm talking now and we're in three act structure okay, Act 2A. Yeah, question marks. I had no idea what that needed to be. And I knew what Act 2B should be, but if I moved Act 2B sooner, it's too fast. Like, we didn't have enough buildup to, like, make Act 2B's plan logical. Got it. Like, I knew. I don't. I'm not spoiling, but you've read it, so I think, you know, like, what happens at the midpoint, that has to happen. I want that to happen. But if I put it sooner, there's not enough reason for it to happen. But if I save it for later, I have to fill in the blanks. I have to fill in a whole act of, like, what is going to happen? And I've had a really hard time with, like, filling in Act 2A. And so the first time I wrote it, I had, like, one plan, and then I got a couple scenes in and was like, this isn't sustainable. It's. It's not enough. So then I went back and, like, changed my plan for 2A, and that was sustainable, but it still doesn't feel like it's the right puzzle piece. So that's. That's the version that you've read.

Emily:

Yeah.

Rachel:

And I know, like, that's probably where the majority of my revisions are going to be, but I still had to, like, write that down. I still had to, like, okay, this act is not my favorite.

Emily:

Still had to just go through. Go through it.

Rachel:

Yeah. But I. But I, like, really leaned heavily on, like, the boundaries of that act, because we need a plan coming out of Act 1, and that plan has to last us for that whole act and also show, like, pursuing a goal and a change, a shift in the character. So we have to, like, connect a lot of puzzle pieces. But anyway, I don't know how helpful that is for listeners, because you have no idea what I'm talking about, but it's not sustainable. You feel it. Like, I think for me, what that felt like was, like, I kept running out of ideas. I kept being like, where is this going next? What are they doing? Why are they doing it? How are we going to have a plot here? Like, that's what I kept feeling. And then that's how I knew. Like, okay, I needed a different. I need a different plan. I needed a different shift. I needed my characters to come out of act one feeling differently so that they could create a different Act 2A.

Emily:

Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. So why don't we break down a published example just so folks can kind of see how this works, because we keep talking about how our stories aren't perfect examples. So let's talk about some of that work kind of to the book so that you guys can see exactly what we're talking about when we're talking about the. The way that character arcs are built into these beats. So the first. The first example, we'll talk about the Hunger Games. So this is just the first book of the Hunger Games, which is. If you don't know what the Hunger Games is, it's a story about. It is a dystopian book about a world in which kids from all of the districts of the city are plucked to compete in a competition to the.

Rachel:

A fight to the death about.

Emily:

Yeah. So Katniss, our main character, she believes. She opens the story believing that survival of self and family is the only reasonable goal. And so when her sister is picked, like, at random to participate in this challenge, she volunteers in her place. And then she kind of has to decide, like, what now what? Like, I'm gonna be in this competition? What am I gonna do? How am I gonna approach it? And so that's a great. A great example of a book in which it feels like she has no agency, right? Because she's just been shoved into this game. But she does. She has the agency of how she's going to participate in this game. So act two starts when she realizes, after a kind of a big publicity play, she realizes that she might have a chance to win the Hunger Games. But because her internal obstacle belief is that survival is the only worthy goal, only goal worth pursuing, she doesn't realize that, like, other people could be her allies in this game. Um, she can only see other people as adversaries. So her Act 2 plan is to just play along with other people, pretend to be allies with them just enough so that she can win the Games by herself. So her whole like. And actually, I think, like, if we're talking four act structure, right, Her. Her for her second act is her just trying to survive literally by herself, and it does not go well. And then at the midpoint, she realizes that working with other people might be helpful, at least in the short term, but her goal is still to win. There can only be one winner. And so she starts to ally with a girl named Rue. And. And then for Act 3, or 2B, depending on your. Your structure, she is pursuing that plan. She and Rue are working together to try to, you know, know, get. Get rid of the other people in the game. Yes. And survive longer than the other people in the game. And so. But then Rue dies because Katniss is super focused on her, right? Surviving, thinking that surviving is. And, like, getting back to her family is the only reasonable goal worth pursuing. So she loses a friend who reminds her of her sister. She's like, what is this all for? Right? And so that's when she learns the message of the story, which is that there are goals more worthy and important than simply surviving, right? Like rebellion. Standing up for something, even if it results in your death, is, like, worth doing. And so her Act 3 starts when she decides that she's going to try to save Peeta, another friend of hers, and, like, get him to the end of the game with her and help him survive, even if it's ends up costing her her own life. So you can kind of see, like, this very clear, like, I'm going to survive by myself. I'm going to help somebody else survive, right? Very clear differences in the plans of action that she has. And those plans are strong enough, right? Survive by myself. Survive with allies. Help somebody else survive. Right? Those are plans that can last across many scenes. We can see her pursuing those plans, implementing those plans, pursuing those goals. So. So, yeah. So hopefully that is a helpful kind of picture of what those. What do you. I don't want to. They're not goal posts. What. What would they be?

Rachel:

Like, markers? Guideposts. Markers.

Emily:

Guideposts. In. In the story structure and how they tie. They're basically like, how is your character gonna deal with the plot? They're not plot events, Right?

Rachel:

Yeah. What I also really like about the Hunger Games and how it applies to actual breaks and, like, Katniss's goals is that the games themselves don't start until, like, 30, 35% through the story. And when I first, like, realized that, to me, I was like, oh, I would have started those games at an act break, you know, like, oh, no. As soon as she gets into the games, like, here's the goal. And it's like, I think that was a really intentional choice, like, structure wise, craft wise. Because then if you look at, like, a different plotting structure, you have the first pinch point around that time, which there's. There's other structures that use the terminology, like first plot point, first pinch point. And we don't typically use that, but.

Emily:

In my understanding are just plot. Those are the plot events. Right?

Rachel:

But then there's plot. There's a. I'm telling you, this is why I don't get it. It's never made sense to me. So that's why I don't use it. And I also feel like it's not enough because you have like the first plot point. Every. Every. Shouldn't everything be a part anyway? But the, the point being that something new is introduced. That's really what like a, A plot point and a pinch point are. Something new happens and then their character.

Emily:

Yes, but it doesn't change their plan. It just upstakes their plan.

Rachel:

Yeah. And like, the character still has to react to that and, like, still has to address that and like, pursue that. So in. In Katniss's case, Act two is not when the games start. Act two is when she decides the plan of, like, I might be able to win this. So if I'm gonna win it, I have to, like, stay focused on me. Because she knows every other kid's gonna die, so she's gotta be on. On her. Her stuff. She doesn't wanna be involved in anyone else. It would be a little bit too painful. So anyway, I think, like, that's an important. I like how that plot is handled. So you can think about, like, okay, well, you know, even if I don't have this major thing happening, this major thing happening until partially through an act, we still want to see this break happen with, like, I am going to pursue a goal. I'm. I am making a choice to do something. It's a plan. Here are the behavior, like, here are the steps to accomplish this plan. Here are the behaviors that I'm going to use. And then things will change again and we have to like, alter. Alter those pivot point plans, alter those goals, those behaviors. Moving into the next act. Yeah.

Emily:

So yeah.

Rachel:

Yeah.

Emily:

Any other tips and tricks for act breaks?

Rachel:

Um, it's helpful usually to me to have an idea when I'm drafting of, like, what is the next plan that I'm aiming for? Like, what is the next what. How will my next act break? You know, if I'm writing into two A or I'm writing in the beginning of act two, I, like, know that there will be a shift coming. So if I can keep that in mind, I usually can work myself towards. We've got to raise the stakes. We've got to have a bigger problem. What's that going to be? So from like a pantser perspective, where I rarely plan this stuff ahead of time, I am still thinking about, like, I know down the road a break will need to happen. So can I. How can I set myself up for that? How can I direct our plot in. In this direction? Even if I'm not exactly sure, how will they execute this plan. I do know there needs to be a different one. We want a different one happening.

Emily:

Yeah. Yeah, I think that's helpful. I think the other kind of side of that is your plans might change. You know, as you're drafting for me for, especially for up in Bolton Lights, I was like, I know what they need to do at a plot level I don't really fully understand. Actually, this is happening to me right now too. I'm like, I don't really fully understand how it's connected to their flawed internal obstacles and, like, what the mistakes and consequences are going to be. And so right now I'm just trying to get the plot down and I'm just trusting that, like, I'll find a way to make, you know, future plot events be a result of what the choices they're making and be able to hone that later on. But don't be like, I think pivot plans. Pivot plans and act breaks. And thinking about all of, like, how your plot and characters tie together, like, all of this stuff is very, very important. It's useful. It is key to think about in terms of making sure your story is delivering the kind of the tension journey that you want it to, but also the emotional impact. But you're not, like, don't expect yourself to get it exactly right the first time. Whether you're a plotter or a pantser. Yes, Unlikely to happen. So, you know, just as we say with all of our tools, just use this tool as a way to guide you, lead you, and then, like, evaluate what you come up with with future drafts and hone to make sure it's. It's what you want it to be.

Rachel:

Yeah. Cool. If you want to build a successful, fulfilling and sustainable writing life that works for you, you've got to get on our email list.

Emily:

Sign up now to get our free email course, the Magic of Character Arcs. After seven days of email magic, you'll have the power to keep your readers flipping pages all through the night.

Rachel:

Link in the show notes. We'll see you there.

Emily:

Bye. It.