Craft Glossary · term

Three-act structure

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Plain English: The oldest macro-shape. Act I (setup, ~25%): the normal world, the protagonist, the inciting incident that disturbs it, ending on a point-of-no-return. Act II (confrontation, ~50%): escalating obstacles in a "new world", a midpoint that raises stakes or flips the goal, then a collapse. Act III (resolution, ~25%): climax and new equilibrium.

Rule: Whatever blueprint you use, you can locate these four load-bearing moments (incite, first turn, midpoint, climax). If you can't find the midpoint, Act II is probably a flat "and-then" sag.

Fail: The saggy middle — Act II as a string of incidents with no midpoint pivot and no rising cost. Each scene should change the situation, not just extend it.

Arjuna Badger Press · Craft Library

Glossary · Doctrine · Anti-patterns · Triptych form · LLM tells

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