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What's that sound?
*OMINOUS RUMBLING*
Hello Animals! It's good for my palms to see you.
Hut-hut hut hut-hut-hut-hut! Welcome back to Story Shamans.
Are you guys ready? This week, we're talkin' all about Plot.
It's a beast, no doubt, so we'll be breakin' it up over 5 videos.
Five. We're gonna do five--
Wait. You already said that.
The plot of your story can be broken up into 4 large chunks.
Let's call them "Acts." Act 1, Act 2, Act 3, and Act 4.
Now alot of people, talk about their stories in terms of a "three-act structure."
But here, we're breakin' it up into four. Why? Because it makes more sense this way.
Each of these four acts have essential components. Things that need to happen within the Act.
Act 1's got five steps. Act 2? Five steps.
Act 3? Five steps.
Act 4? Fi--
haHA! Ten steps.
This week, we'll be dealin' with Act 1. ACT 1!
It's got 5 Steps. You've got:
The Setup The Inciting Incident
Raise the Dramatic Question Debate & Decision
and Turning Point 1. SETUP, is when you simply spend the beginning
of your story establishing all of the basics of what your
audience needs to know. You're setting up the "normal world."
The everyday existence of your characters and this place.
You're layering in all the pieces from your various cubbies.
You're establishing your story's seed, you're establishing your characters, your world,
the beginnings of your character's desire lines, and conflicts, etc etc.
From there, we move on to the: INCITING INCIDENT
This is when SOMETHING HAPPENS. This something starts your story.
An event that kicks everything, initially into motion.
Say you've setup a story in which your main character needs money for an operation.
Hehehehe.
He has a unique condition and an expensive
experimental surgery is his only option. Establishing this information is all part
of the setup. Your inciting incident would be, say, when
an old friend arrives and recruits him to rob a bank with him.
From there, we move on to the next step: RAISE THE DRAMATIC QUESTION
This typically occurs right after the inciting incident.
In fact, they go together so well, this step might seem obvious,
but it's important to remember. When you raise the dramatic question, you're
specifically giving the audience a particular question they will hold in their mind for
the rest of the story. You don't need to outright SAY the dramatic
question, it should be obvious from the events of your
story. When they know our main character needs the
money for his surgery, the dramatic question they're thinking is:
"Will he get the money for his operation?" If your story doesn't raise a specific dramatic
question, then your audience will be unsure of what
the driving force of your story is. And they'll be less interested in where it's going;
because they don't know what story they're watching yet.
Next up, is the DEBATE & DECISION.
This is where your main character debates with himself or others, about what he should do.
The inciting incident has sparked off a chain
of events that the main character has to deal with.
What will he do? Most characters have a bit of difficulty making
this decision as it typically requires a bold change in action of some kind.
Turning their lives upside down. Is our main character going to rob that bank?
He's never done anything like this before,
he might go to jail, he might hurt people, this is all new territory.
But if he doesn't, he might die. Should he do it?
He weighs the pros and cons, and then he makes a decision.
For the sake of the story, he's gonna decide to do it.
Of course he is. If he were to decide NOT to, well that's an
entirely different story we're tellin'. Your main character thinks about it, and then
makes his decision. That leaves one step left:
TURNING POINT 1. This is where your story changes.
Your main character has made their decision and now they act on it.
They take a leap forward that changes the landscape of the story.
The safe world of home is gone. The journey begins.
In our example story: Our main character makes his decision and
says yes to robbing the bank. He then packs a bag and leaves town with his
buddy, off to join the bank robbing team.
He's in, no turning back, he's reached Turning Point 1.
That's it for Act 1. Let's review!
We establish our main character and his health problem.
He's got no money for his life-saving surgery.
--That's Setup.
His friend offers him a position in a bank robbery.
--That's the Inciting Incident.
Our character weighs the pros and cons, and then decides to join the team.
--Debate & Decision.
He packs a bag and leaves town with his buddy, ready to rock and roll.
--That's Turning Point 1.
Next week, we're smashin' on in to Act 2!