An Overview of Act III 50-75%
Deep Dive on Four-Act Story Structure Part 7 of 10
In the last blog article, we covered the midpoint where the character faces an uncomfortable truth. They have a realization about themself and the plot that allows them to move forward with more initiative. This moves us firmly into Act III.
I like to think of Act III (from the midpoint to the all is lost) as the time when shit gets real and stays real, and the hero fights with proactive energy and new information.
Elements that occur in Act III
Progressive complications and higher stakes. After all, there is no turning back for the main character.
The second pinch point, where the antagonist gives the main character a smack down and foreshadows the All is Lost Moment (the Third Plot Point in a Three-Act structure) and the story’s climax.
All is Lost: represents the Moment in the story where all hope is lost in the main character reaching the external story goal.
In this Act, our character is no longer running away; if they are, it’s because they have a newfound purpose and plan. Larry Brooks refers to Act III as The Warrior. I like to call it the Double Down or Fight with New Information, but it all means the same.
There will be progressive complications to the plot and higher stakes. The protagonist is fully committed to their external goal, and they understand some of their limitations, but they are still reacting to their fears and flaws stemming from their false belief. Typically, things will get worse if there is a false victory at the midpoint. Conversely, circumstances may improve if they experienced a false defeat, but not by much.
The plot speed usually amps up, but so much of Act III is about demonstrating the character’s emotional battle. The jarring back and forth between understanding what needs to be done because of the midpoint reveal and letting go of their false beliefs. They will be wrestling with their consciousness here, and the lie they believe about themselves and the world will still sit in the winning position even though they are moving forward.
Act III will cover multiple scenes, and the antagonistic force is breathing down the character’s neck, metaphorically, if not literally.
The second pinch point occurs around the 63% mark (splitting Act III in half). As with the first pinch point, the antagonistic force will push back, but this time it will be HARD, knocking the ever-loving tar out of our character. Again, depending on your conflict, the antagonist can be a bad character, a bad situation, or a big internal flaw. This is typically a single scene or chapter.
My favorite example of a character dancing between the truth they discovered at the midpoint and the fear driving them forward is from It’s a Wonderful Life. At the Midpoint, George declines the villain’s job offer. He doesn’t need Mr. Potter or his money.
After that, George shows up full force for his life in Bedford falls, and with the Baily Building in Loan, things get better for George. He celebrates building new homes for customers and forms new friendships. Even so, there is a powerful sense that his life isn’t what he hoped it would have been. He compares himself to his brother, the war hero, and to his friend Sam, who is off in New York making gobs of money.
The pinch point comes after George’s Uncle Billy, who works at the building and loan, misplaces $8000. In desperation, George crawls back to the villain, Mr. Potter, to beg for a loan or face jail. He offers us his life insurance as collateral.
George is laughed at and told he’s worth more dead than alive. George winds up at a bar and gets drunk while wrestling with the decision to end his life. He prays for a sign and gets punched in the face by a man holding a grudge against him for treating his wife poorly. His friends try to remind him of who he is and plead with him not to drink so much and go home to his wife, but he doesn’t listen. Instead wrecks his car and stumbles onto the bridge.
At that moment on the bridge, right before he almost jumps to his death, all hope for George is genuinely lost.
What we really see in this act is a vast turning of fortune for the main character.
It begins positively with Georges’s commitment to the Building and Loan and Bedford Falls and ends on a dramatic low with the decision to end his life. That’s good storytelling!
In the next blog post, we will cover the All is Lost Moment in more depth.
