YOUR BOOK IN THREE ACTS
COURSE OUTLINE
Introduction:
The elements of
Narrative Drive: What is it, how to develop it, how to maintain it
ACT ONE: Hooking the reader
The first ten pages:
Hooking
your reader with the first sentence
The
perfect opening paragraph
Six things you must include in Chapter One
Defining Act One
Creating characters that make us care
What
makes a hero?
Goals
and conflicts
Leaving
room for growth
Developing Theme
Catalysts for Change
The cliff hanger
Ten things you must include in Act One
ACT TWO: Your story unfolds
Off on an adventure
Introducing new characters
The
co-narrator
The
antagonist
The
reflective characters
Dramatizing the theme
Confronting obstacles
building tension
Subplots and motifs
Pivot points and resting points
The Dark Moment
Ten things you must include in Act Two
ACT THREE: Resolution
things get worse,
then they get worser
A step-by-step guide for drawing your reader into your
book with action...even if your storyline has no action at all!
Slaying the dragon:the final conflict
Answering the theme question
Tying in subplots
Demonstrating character growth
The completed journey
The Terminator Ending
The difference between climax and denouement
The epilogue
Ten things that define Act Three
Day Two ends with a
fun class exercise in which you will actually create a storyline from random
plot elements and organize your story into three acts. Students are amazed and
delighted by this game, and some have actually gone on to write the books it
inspired!
