Act Three - Sequence Seven and Eight

Act Three- Chase, confrontation, and resolution.

Sequence Seven - Getting to the location of the battle - a plan, assembly of team, tools, training, and rehearsal. A ticking clock, race to save the victim, stop a loved one from leaving.

Sequence Eight - The fight - resolution - reintroduce the main character, who now has what she needs.

Harry Potter

Act Three - Sequence Seven (in this case eight)

The sequence opens at night with the kids sneaking out of Griffindore. The three use the cloak to sneak up to the third floor and into the forbidden room. The kids must pass many tests. Harry succeeds at the last test and moves toward their goal.

Act Three - Sequence Eight (in this case nine)

In the next chamber, Harry discovers his true opponent. Harry discovers that the stone has somehow gotten into his pants pocket and runs for it. Voldemort, a worthy opponent, tries to entice Harry to join him with the promise of bringing back his parents. Harry refuses. Voldemort loses his access to Quirrell's body and flies out of the chamber. Harry collapses.

Harry wakes up in the school infirmary. Harry learns that his win was the result of his mother's sacrifice to save him. The three kids are reunited.

The Finale is the Great Hall scene, the closing ceremonies of the school. Then we move to the kids boarding the train to go back to the ordinary world.

I hope you've enjoyed this little walk through the three acts and brought something helpful away from it. Feel free to share your thoughts.

Act Two - Part Two - Sequence Five and Six

First, I will say don't be confused by the sequence numbers. With Harry Potter, we have an extra sequence, so it does through the numbers off.

In Act Two, Part Two, the character continues to try to reach his/her goal. Again, each sequence will represent an attempt and an outcome. The climax of Part Two should give yet another glimpse of the central question. At this point the story should shift directions and prepare the reader for the major climax of the story.

Back to Harry and his adventures:

Act Two - Sequence Five (in this case Sequence Six) - This sequence begins in the Great Hall with talk of the coming Quiddich match and Harry's distrust of Snape. Harry receives a gift from one of his mentors.

We then shift to an action scene of the match. Near the end of the match, Harry's broom goes crazy and Hermione suspects Snape as being the attacker. She uses her magic to attack Snape and Harry's broom returns to normal. Harry wins the match.

The kids learn more about the three-headed dog from Hagrid.

Act Two - Sequence Six (in this case Sequence Seven) - A shot of snow flying, shifts the story to a new passage of time. The boys stay at Hogwarts for Christmas and Hermione leaves them in charge of getting into the restricted section the library.

Christmas morning, Harry receives the cloak of invisibility which gives him access to the restricted section, where he finds a book on Nicholas Flammel, becomes scared, and is chased by Fitch and his cat. Deception is spawned from his witnessing a fight between Snape and Quirrell.

Harry finds the mirror of desire and sees his parents. Extremely attracted by the sight, we seem him back at the mirror in the next scene and the Mirror is explained by Dumbledore.

Another passage of time brings the three kids back together to learn more of Nicholas Flammel and the Sorcerer's Stone.

At Hagrid's we learn of the baby dragon and the three plus Draco get in trouble for leaving the house. Detention is to be held at Hagrid's hut. (Real big punishment right?) Hagrid takes them into the Dark Forest. Set of together, Harry and Draco, to search for the unicorn killer the two come into contact with Voldemort.

Back at Griffindore, Harry shares his fears.

Another time pass: End of the term exams. Hagrid's been given a dragon's egg and the kids are skeptical of the givers intentions. Dumbledore is gone from the school. The kids plan to guard the door to what they think will lead to the stone in the Head Master's absence.

This opens up for the Final plan and confrontation of Act Three.

I want to say, there is a much more detailed outline of this at: http://thedarksalon.blogspot.com/2009/07/harry-potter-and-sorcerers-stone-story.html .

I had the passing thought that some may think I'm taking credit for someone else's hard work on outlining this movie. This is actually my attempt to better understand the process. Go to the link above, for Alexandra goes a lot deeper into the story and shows you the Red Herrings within the story and some of the different aspects of the story such as "The Attack on the Hero" and "Gifts from Mentor". Throughout the story, there are items foreshadowing on future acts and she does a great job at pointing some of them out.

Till next time, keep writing and share your thoughts.

Act Two- Part One - Sequence Three and Four

In Act Two, the character crosses over into his/her new world. A plan is made, allies are gathered, and tools and training is acquired. There is usually a failed battle before the final battle. The character goes through at least two attempts to reach his/her goal. Each try will be a sequence. In some stories, this section will contain more than two sections. The climax of Act Two - Part One should give a glimpse of the final answer, sometimes mirroring its opposite.

Act Two - Sequence Three - On the train, Harry quickly gathers his team. They arrive at the school and Hagrid escorts the kid into their new world. The climax, the sorting ceremony, Harry must make a choice between good and bad, which gives us a glimpse at the answer to the central question. Will Harry be a good wizard? The sequence ends with Harry feeling lonely, pulling the audience in to care for this young boy.

Act Two - Sequence Four - The story shifts to morning and we meet the teachers. At Lunch, a new question is formed. Is Hagrid good or bad? The missing item from 713 raises suspicion in Harry's mind. Harry has a flying lesson and becomes the youngest Seeker ever. On the forbidden third flour, the kids discover yet another of the school's mysteries.

Act Two - Sequence Five - On the athletic field, we are reintroduced to Harry's double nature. He would be a good Beater(bad) as well as a good Seeker(good). At class, Hermione shows her true character (she is perfect, isn't she) and Ron doesn't like it. There's trouble in the trio, already.

We are told that the girl is in the bathroom and then a disturbance of a troll is made known. The two boys rush to Hermione and discover that she's under attack. Together, they stop the troll. A strong bond is formed between the kids.

Notice there is an additional sequence in this Act. The movie is long, allowing for additional directions within the story.

As usual, feel free to comment.

Act One - Sequence Two

Act One - Sequence Two - Each sequence should take up about fifteen minutes of a movie and fifty pages of a four hundred page book. These counts will vary.

In sequence two, you will finish your set up, move your characters through the crossing threshold and end with the central question of the story. This is also known as the turning point one.

Now back to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Sequence two begins in a tavern and then moves to Diagon Alley. Harry gathers the tools he will need in his new world. Harry's inner need to use his powers for good is revealed at the wand shop. This also sets up the central question of the overall series. Will Harry turn out good or evil?

Back in the tavern, Harry's biggest enemy is revealed and the Central Question for movie one or book one is set up. Will the dark wizard come after Harry, and will Harry be able to survive?

This sequence ends with Harry jumping through the pillar at Platform. He enters his new world which ends Act One.

Again feel free to share your thoughts and/or examples.

Act One - Sequence One

Act One is the set up of your story. You will reveal the major players, themes, locations, conflicts, and the main conflict. You will show the inner and outer need of your protagonist. There will be setups and payoffs, rising stakes, and a possible time clock set into motion.

Act One- Sequence One- In a movie, this will normally take up the first fifteen minutes. In a novel, of four hundred words, you will find it in the first fifty pages. The page counts will vary per novel.

In sequence one, you will answer the questions who, what, where, when, and why: Characters, goals, setting, time, and motivation. This sequence will end with the inciting incident.

I'm going to use Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone as an example. I hope everyone has seen the movie. If not, watch it before moving forward. It's a very good movie.

Sequence One begins with the prologue, where we are introduced to the setting of magical world meets human, or muggle, world. We met the main character, Harry, as a baby and are introduced to his mentors.

The movie then flashes forward to present time. We are introduced to the main character's normal world and his conflicting family.

The zoo scene introduces a foreshadowing, those who have seen the series will know what I'm referring to, and the main character's desire to have a real family.

The invitations are the main character's call to adventure, or inciting incident. His uncle steps in as the Refusal of the call. But, the call cannot be refused when Hagrid arrives to escort the boy to the Hogwart's School.

As the main character follows Hagrid out the door to begin his adventure, we arrive at the end of Sequence One.

I'll end there for today. Look forward to seeing you tomorrow as we walk into Sequence two of Act One. Feel free to share examples of your own.

Three Acts, Eight Sequences

The basic structure of fiction: Does it apply to all fiction? I don't think so. I've spent the weekend going over my index cards, applying the structure to movies, and glancing through some of my favorite short stories. All have a beginning, middle, and end, which is the main concept of the three acts, but breaking them into eight sequences, seemed to be another matter entirely.

I watched Tears of the Sun this weekend, paying close attention for the sequences and yes they are there. It seems the process is much clearer in visual work rather the written word.

I was able to divide my cards, False Memory by Dean Koontz into three acts and managed to find a few of the sequences. It appears that the first sequence may be missing from books entirely, jumping quickly into the next sequence.

I read through short stories in Shroud Issue 2 Mar/April 2008. The acts are there in short versions, but seemed a waste of time looking for sequences, which I did not find. I'm sure longer short stories may have apparent sequences within.

Throughout the week, I will be visiting the different Acts and sequences. Feel free to share your comments on the structure.

Dissecting a Novel - The Index Cards

This has been a long process. I'm reaching the end of the book and thought I'd share with you samples of the index cards. I hope you are able to read my handwriting. This is just to give you a general idea of what can go on the cards.

Setting, POV, Summary, Scene Type, end thoughts.

I found the Scene Type a little hard for me. As I neared the end, I began leaving it blank all together.

These are scenes from False Memory by Dean Koontz.

Hope my steps help others toward their goals of writing a novel.

Screenwriting Tricks for Authors

Directed by a comment to my post on Dissecting A Novel, I found this blog. There's a wealth of information on the structure of the novel. There are even breakdowns of popular movies such as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and The Mist.

Author Alexandra Sokoloff has even been nice enough to supply a table of contents to her blog, making it easy to maneuver through her posts. At the moment, all the links are not there, but it still gives a general idea of which topics to look for to read the posts in order.

I'm deeply thankful for being told of this site and felt the need to share it with my followers.

Alexandra can be found at: http://thedarksalon.blogspot.com/2009/08/screenwriting-tricks-for-authors-table.html

Dissecting A Novel

In an effort to better understand novel structure, I've sat down and began dissecting a novel. I've read for years that this is a good process to help a new writer get a feel for writing their own but have continued to put it off.

I recently read Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell, which is a great book for any writer. He describes a method of dissecting a novel to learn plotting. So, before I begin my revision on my NaNo Novel, I decided to give it a shot.

He suggests doing six different novels. I have my novels chosen and have begun my first. Will I do the other five? It depends on what I learn from the process.

Here's what you do: You read the book for pleasure, and then you take index cards and map out each scene. For each scene, you write the setting, point-of-view character, a two-line scene summary, and scene type. You also include thoughts on the ending. Does it make you want to read on? Why or why not?

Now that you have your cards complete, you can divide them into the three-act structure. You can identify your point of no return. You have a better view of the book as a whole broke down into sections.

I'll let you know what I learn.

Has anyone else ever done this? Would you like to share your methods of dissecting a novel?

Plot

What is Plot?

This is what happens within the individual scenes and the overall story.

One way to simplify this is to break it down into three acts. (There are other methods.)

Act 1 should include introducing the main characters, their goals, conflict, and setting. There should be plot conflict (What the character wants and what’s in their way), character conflict (Why they want what they want), and stakes (what will happen if character does not succeed).

Act 2 should show the stakes increasing (now instead a trophy, the character needs the prize money to pay the mortgage his mother didn’t pay), and decrease the characters ability to be able to obtain goal(perhaps the character is entering a car race and he finds out that the engine has to be overhauled before he can race, this puts the pressure one.)

Act 3 is where it all comes to a close. The character either reaches or fails to reach his goal. She faces the consequences of the outcome. All loose ends are brought to some sort of closure.

I’m not sure how many writers draft their stories using this method or any other structure. I feel more comfortable with a free flowing method. Once the story is down on paper, I may check to see if the ingredients are there, but it’s usually apparent when they are not. The story will not feel complete.

Please share your thoughts on structuring your story’s plot.