The first thing I want to do before I begin my article is offer an apology to my readers.  Far too long ago, I said that I would have this article up in one week.  Sadly, life got in the way and my plans on continuing my article series had to be postponed, though one must admit the irony that can be found in this situation.  Most readers were probably waiting with bated breath to read about story structure.  I get sidetracked for the first time when I finally tackle that subject.  Irony folks.  It’s the cruel mean joke of all writers.  Either way, I am here now to continue my lesson on story structure.

In my last article, I talked a little about building the foundations for your story and Act 1 in the three act story structure.  Today, I want to talk about acts 2 and 3.  To recap Act 1, there are three parts to Act 1.  The introduction, the inciting incident and the first plot point.  Now we will discuss Act 2.

Act 2 consists of four parts.  Plot Point 1, The First Culmination, The Mid-Point, and Plot Point 2.  Now before you guys start to get all crazy, I did indeed say Plot Point 1 again.  You may lash out accusingly saying, “Nay, nay. You said Plot Point 1 takes place at the end of Act 1.  You are confusing us!”  Firstly, yes Plot Point 1 does take place at the end of Act 1, but it is also the beginning of Act 2.  Consider this; a river divides two land masses.  The only way to get from one side of the river to the other is to cross a conveniently placed bridge.  The bridge starts on one land mass, but ends at the other.  Which side does the bridge belong?  The answer is both.  Plot Point 1 serves as a bridge from Act 1 to Act 2.  Secondly, I know I’m confusing you, and I’m sorry about that.  It is what it is, but I can guarantee that if you are serious about writing, this will all become second nature to you soon enough.  Since we already discussed Plot Point 1, I won’t go into details here.  No need to copy and paste what has already been said.

Instead let’s talk about the first culmination.  The First Culmination is essentially, the first confrontation the hero has with his enemy.  It is the greatest challenge the hero faces in the story thus far.  It is the moment when the hero is placed in a desperate situation.  Typically, the First Culmination doesn’t end well.  In Star Wars, the First Culmination takes place on the Death Star.  Pretty much whole Death Star sequence can be considered the First Culmination.  The Millennium Falcon is grounded and under heavy guard.  Our heroes are stuck on an enemy station filled with thousands of armed combatants.  They are outnumbered, outmatched and out of their league.  At the end of it all, one of their team doesn’t make it out alive.  This is where the crap hits the proverbial fan.  This is Luke’s first time facing off with the Empire, and the first time in decades that Obi-Wan has come face to face with Darth Vader.  The results are typically quite bittersweet, if not out and destructive.

This is one of the best examples of a First Culmination due to the monumental obstacles that stand in the way of the heroes and their exciting escape from the clutches of danger.  When you write your story, you want the stakes to be high.  You want to create a feeling of despair during the Frist Culmination.  You want the audience to question whether or not the hero can make it out alive.  If your audience doesn’t ask this question, “How the heck can they get out of this?” you’re First Culmination is sadly not up to par.  Oh and by the way, I haven’t said that sentence while watching a movie in a long time.  But that’s good.  You new wave of future writers have a great opportunity to capitalize on here.

The next part of the Three Act structure is the Midpoint.  Technically speaking, the Midpoint is the First Culmination.  However, I prefer to look at them as separate entities.  The midpoint, to me, is the lowest point in the story.  It is where the hero is in his worst state.  Using Star Wars again, this point would be after they escape the Death Star and Luke laments the loss of Obi-Wan.  The biggest reason that the Midpoint and the First Culmination are so often thought of as one is because the Midpoint is more or less an idea.  It is indeed a part of the first culmination, but in terms of outlining, I find it easiest to separate these portions.  I see the First Culmination as the action and the midpoint as the result.  Separating the First Culmination and the Midpoint is a personal writing shtick of mine.  The number one thing you should know about writing is that there is no proper way of writing a story.  All you need to remember is this, the Midpoint is the darkest hour for the hero.  Make him hurt.  The more he hurts, the more the audience feels his pain, both physically and emotionally.  Emotion is the key of the Midpoint.  Make it emotional.  Now there is a common trick that many writers use to emphasize emotional pain and create a sense of danger before going into act 3.  Almost every action movie with an ensemble cast will kill a character here.  It’s a cheap trick that very rarely strikes the right chord, not to say it never does.  There is a difference between using character to death to emphasize the danger properly, and using it as a plot device.  Most writers nowadays use death simply as a plot device.  You are better than that.  If you kill a character here, do it right.  Don’t pull it out of your ass in a feeble attempt to get the audience involved in the conflict.

The Second Plot Point is exactly what Plot Point 1 is, a shift in the story leading us into the next act.  Just like Plot Point 1, Plot Point 2 is the bridge that leads us into Act 3.  There really isn’t much else to say.  Basically, it’s the final plot twist before the climax.  In Batman Begins, Plot Point 2 occurs when Ra’s Al Guhl shows up and burns down Wayne Manor.  It’s one last obstacle before the final showdown.

Now we come to the moment we have been waiting for.  The audience has sat through your story with all the plots, subplots, emotions, and conflicts waiting for this moment, the one moment where everything comes together.  The final moment when the tension is at the absolute highest.  The climax.  The climax is almost always one of the most memorable moments to any story because it is, strictly by nature, the most exciting moment of the tale.  The climax is the moment when everything comes to head and the last obstacle between the hero and his ultimate goal is tackled.  Think of Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.  Frodo and Sam were climbing to the top of Mount Doom, all the while being tailed by Gollum.  Aragorn, meanwhile, assembles the largest force of men in all of Middle Earth at the gates of Mordor, openly challenging the Dark Lord and his minions to the battle to end all battles.  All of the struggles from the past three movies has led to this final epic battle pitting the forces of good against the forces of evil.  The tension is at its peak, as the fate of everything resides on the outcome of this final fight.  This is an excellent example of an exciting climax.

The climax does not necessarily have to be so grand and epic.  Think of the end of Eastern Promises.  The movie was more a crime drama, so there wasn’t going to be much in the way of epic gun battles or end-all be-all wars.  Instead, the film opted to capitalize on the tension and emotion that had been billowing for the entire movie.  The important thing to remember about the climax is that it is simply the moment when the tension is at its peak, and the moment when the hero is forced to take on the final obstacle to achieve the ultimate goal.  Bing.  Done.

And last, but certainly not least, we come to what is probably the most overlooked portion of story structure: the denouement.  The denouement is far too frequently overlooked by writers, which is odd, considering its importance.  This is basically the resolution of the story.  This is that moment when we see the outcome of the story, and the effects the journey has had on our heroes.  In Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi, the denouement kick starts on Endor after the Death Star has exploded and Han and Leia have their warm chat about the fate of Luke.  It continues through the funeral of Darth Vader and on to the celebration with the Rebels and the Ewoks.  We see all of the characters alive and well (the ones that are, anyway) and we see that Vader has redeemed himself, appearing as a happy ghost next to Obi-Wan and Yoda.  Yay!  Everyone is happy, and we see the result of the Empire’s loss.  In the midst of this ending, hope is in the air, and the future looks bright from this angle.  A successful denouement brings closure to the tale, gives the characters some direction for the future, and above all else gives the story an ending.  A poor denouement simply stops.  If you are looking for an example of a poor denouement, watch the last two Transformers movies, read pretty much any comic book (comic books are without a doubt the worst offender of poor denouement syndrome, or PDS) or play Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (amazing game BTW).  To be fair, a bad denouement won’t wreck your story if its good, but as I said before, the first and last parts of your story are critical, so don’t chince out on your resolution for the sake of time.

I could end my article there to give you an idea of what a poor denouement really is, but I like to pretend I’m a good writer, so I need to offer some resolution to this article.  I hope you guys learned something here.  Story structure is hard to understand at first, but folks who watch a lot of movies, read lots of books and plays story driven video games will likely have a better grasp than others.  Even so, simply understanding story structure is very different from successfully putting it into practice.  Just because you know how to write properly does not mean you can write with any degree of talent.  I may very well be walking proof of that.

This article also finishes what I like to call, the basics.  I think you aspiring writers are finally ready to hike up your pants and get to work.  Just remember me when you reach the top.  Winky, winky.  Now go my pupils.  Go and make me proud.  Make yourselves proud.

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About the Writer: RyanKeyworth  (4 Posts)

Ryan Keyworth is a resident Midwesterner and professional writer. Ryan has been writing ever since he was a child and was first published when he was 9 years old. Ryan combined his love for comics and science fiction to create the creator owned comic book series Star Crossed Galaxy. Aside from comics and science fiction, Ryan also loves movies, video games, and all things geek. His greatest influences are Robert Kirkman, Joss Whedon and Guillermo Del Toro

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