The Four Act Structure

Link to YouTube Video

Greetings and Salutations Scribblers! 

I hope writing has been going well and you’ve all hit your recent word count goals–I’m a bit behind on mine, so I need to lock in. 

Today we’re going to chat about the Four Act Structure and how you can use it to plot out your novel or short story. 

Quick reminder that this is not the only way to organize the plot beats of your story and that the only right way to do it is by doing what works for you. I do hope this will help to unlock some solutions for you though, especially if you struggle with murky middle syndrome in your novel. 

Personally, I love the four act structure, it gives me a quick and simple way to frame my novels when I’m in the planning stage. What I put down in my outline is the big moments that really propel us through each act and set up the the next. Then, I’ll go back and do more detailed planning of the smaller elements that truly link everything together. For me, using the four act structure is about getting the framework of the story solid. 

Let’s dive in. 

Act I: 

Act I’s job is to establish stakes, hook the reader, and lay the groundwork for your story–you’re providing context and character background to the reader. This is generally around 25% of the novel or about 50-60 pages. 

This is where your inciting incident is going to be. The initial stakes are set up.  I say initial because at the end of act I, something will happen that makes our protagonist realize this is much bigger or worse than it actually is.This is where the character and the reader Lock In to the story. 

Let's look at Finding Nemo to see this in action. 

• The film starts with a powerful hook and inciting incident–all of Nemo’s siblings and his mom are eaten by a barracuda, leaving just Nemo and his father.

• This leads to our initial stakes: Marlin is an overprotective parent who is afraid Nemo isn’t capable of surviving without his protection. Nemo just wants to live a normal fish life. We’re shown the world of the reef and the status quo of the world.

• Then we have the Lock In: Nemo defies his father by touching the butt. He’s taken captive. This changes the entire focus of the initial stakes. Marlin is still concerned with protecting Nemo, but know it’s escalated to a life and death rescue mission. 

Act II:

Now we’re ready for act II. Act II is the second 25% of the novel. We’re shown how they initially plan to solve the problem. They put this plan into action, and, this is the crucial bit, This plan needs to end in failure. This leaves the characters needing to go back to square one or they encounter a new complication that makes their plan ineffective. 

Let’s go back to Finding Nemo. 

• We have two storylines at this point in the film, so here are two Plan As: 

  1. Marlin is chasing after the boat, determined to catch up and free Nemo

  2. Nemo arrives in the tank and meets the other fish–he learns about the tank filter. 

• Plan A in Action: 

  1. Marlin meets Dory, they encounter and escape from the sharks, encounters the scary deep sea fish

  2. Nemo attempts to break the filter so he can be put in a plastic bag and escape through the window

• How their plans fail: 

  1. Marlin discovers that Nemo is in Sydney–much farther away than he thought and making it that much more difficult to find his son

  2. Nemo fails because of his weak fin and is forced to accept he’s stuck in the tank. 

For both of these storylines, we’ve seen our protagonist put a plan into action and fail–that is the key piece, it has to fail. If your protagonist wins or doesn’t suffer a significant set back, the reader is going to lose interest. 

Act III:

This propels us into Act III. Act III is 50%-75% of the story. The protagonist is going to recover and come up with Plan B. Your characters may even make plans C or D–most of these plans are going to fail and things will just continue to get worse for the protagonist–until they have a false victory. They’ll think they’ve done it! Problem solved, but then it comes crashing down around them. This is something readers love to see–we’re so wrapped up in seeing them succeed that when they lose it all, we’re devastated and even more devoted to seeing the story through to the end. 

What does this look like in Finding Nemo? 

• Recovery and New plan: 

  1. Dory & Marlin come together, defeat the jellies, ride the EAC & get closer to Sydney

  2. Nemo hears from Nigel that his father is trying to rescue him, this renews his efforts to escape 

• Everything Gets Worse: 

  1. Marlin and Dory are “eaten” by a whale & attacked by sea gulls

  2. Nemo encounters Darla and the Aqua-Scum 2000 

• False Victories: 

  1. Marlin sees Nemo! He’s Right there! 

  2. The dentist closes the window! 

  3. Darla shakes Nemo’s bag! 

Act IV:

Now we’ve made it to Act IV. This is the final 25% of the story. Our characters come up with their final plan–which usually seems impossible to actually pull off. But, they will! They’re going to win and obtain their goals. They’ll find a new equilibrium and their ready to set off on a new adventure. This is also where you tie up all the relevant threads of the story so it has closure. 

Act IV of Finding Nemo goes a little something like this: 

• Final Plan: 

  1. Gill helps Nemo escape down the drain

  2. Marlin is devastated by his false victory and doesn’t see a way forward until…

• Solve Problems/Obtain Goals 

  1. Nemo and Marlin are finally reunited! Hooray!

  2. We see both of the character’s emotional growth as they work together to solve the problem of being caught in the fish net 

• Equilibrium Reached 

  1. We see them back at the reef, Marlin is friends with the other fish now, Nemo is back and school and ready for new adventures 

• Tying up of Loose Ends: 

  1. We see the rest of the fish have escaped the tank and are in the ocean in their plastic bags. 

And voila! You have a compelling story that maintains conflict, tension, and keeps your reader engaged and turning the pages. You can use the four act structure to sketch out the big moments of you story–you’ll notice I left out a lot of details from Finding Nemo. All the little moments that give us the full picture of the characters’ growth. You’ll have to go back in and fill that information in as you expand your outline. I like to use the four act structure to get down my overall big picture and then I like to return to it after I’ve drafted to make sure things are happening when they should and that the tension and conflict is being increased throughout the story. 

I’ve created a simple graphic organizer you can use to help map this out for your story. The link is in the description below. Just click, make a copy and go wild! 

Alright scribblers, tell me what your favorite act to write is! 

As always, your mileage may vary! If you have any tips for recognizing burnout before it takes over completely, please drop those in the comments below. 

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