Before the math career, I was a theater major. Go figure. So, I lived and breathed the classic Aristotle three act play. Now, I and many others write in three acts. You may know it as the beginning – the middle – and the end.
Act 1 – The Setup
This is where we learn about most of the characters that will play in the rest of your book, be it any genre (except self-help, I guess, though maybe you’d be writing about the person reading the book and why they need the book). It’s going to last for about 25% of your book. So, take your genre total words times .25 and voila, that is how many words you will create for Act 1. In my mystery genre, that means 70,000 words times .25 equals 17,500 words. Better already. Don’t get crazy with your calculator. I have done the arithmetic and will include it later. In Star Wars Episode IV (the 1st movie), we meet Lord Vader, the Empire, Princess Leia, the droids, the hero Luke, his aunt and uncle, and Obi Wan. It’s a busy act.
Act 2 – The Exposition
We learn more about who the protagonist (the main character) is, what they want, what is stopping them, and their fears. Things happen that move the protagonist(s) forward to a major plot point. It’s about 37% of the book. Again, take your genre word count times .37 to get the word count for Act 2. In my case, 70,000 words times .37 equals 25,900 words. In Star Wars, Luke’s aunt and uncle die and he as the hero is called to action. We meet Han Solo, Chewbacca, escape Tatooine with the Empire hot on our trail as the Princess is interrogated by Darth Vader. The Empire destroys a planet. The Death Star captures the Millenium Falcon. Solo and Luke rescue the Princess. Obi Wan passes to the next plane of existence. Solo and company escape the Death Star. See how the tension ramps up?
Act 3 – The Confrontation
The protagonist(s) faces the ultimate, overcomes the obstacles, arrives at the climax. Another 38% of your words land here and you are done. One more trip to multiplication land. Your genre count times .38 to get the word count for Act 3. For mystery, 70,000 words times .38 equals a final 26,600 words for Act 3. In Star Wars, a lot of scenes escalate to the ultimate showdown between the tiny rebel force and the Death Star as the Death Star targets the rebel base. Solo returns for the save and Luke shows his Force potential as the ultimate hero. P.S. If you ever want to write a hero’s journey epic novel, Star Wars Episode IV is a pure example of one. Wikipedia has a great write-up on the stages of a hero’s journey that you can model any plot after, be it something classic like Star Wars, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, or a love story.
Voile! Your plot dinosaur has been chunked down almost small enough to handle into three acts.
I will continue with this fascinating subject later…..
use it. Simple and clean. Not going to sue myself.
