Day 54, Be Brave Project; Three Act Structure, Final

The Third Act.

The main tension of the screenplay has been brought to a head at the end of the second act--the Statement of Transformation make sit clear that tension is building. How will the changed main character resolve the situation? Or is the change just temporary? The end of the second act asks the question, "What happens Now?" The third act provides the answer.

• the conflict is resolved


• the central question is answered


• the sub-plots are tied up


• characters are settled in new circumstances

Here are the two pivotal points for a Third Act Structure:

Climax. External events and/or the actions of the main character have pushed the situation to its most extreme state. The Statement of Transition promises a change in how the Main Character deals with it: This is where that SOT is put to the test and mus be demonstrated through external action. The climax offers the final opportunity for the character to succeed--or fail--in their mission.

Resolution. The problem has been dealt with and a new order has been established. We are given a sense of how the main character's life has been changed as a result of this experience.

Probably the most obvious examples of a Third Act climax and resolution are in traditional mystery novels. In books like those of Agatha Christie, the Statement of Transition is a sudden realization of the detective--s/he has been looking at things entirely wrong; once the kaleidoscope is shaken, the missing piece fits into place and the truth emerges.

This leads to the final (usually very brief) third act, when the characters are gathered in the study. The detective tells their story in a leisurely and vague manner, only coming to the point--the Climax--when telling of how they figured out the truth and then by naming the murderer. The Resolution is the brief series of scenes afterwards, telling of the restoration of order (or of the new world order) within the community after the removal of the murderer. Secondary characters are glimpsed in their new lives, love affairs are resolved.

Today I will

create a folder for organizing this plot work.

print up website information I've found on plot.

begin with chart/graph for plot.

eat something for breakfast, just because it's silly not to.