Plot Diagram of Six Act Story Structure

Marshall DotsonLeave a comment

Salutations, storytellers.

The new Story Structure video breakdown for Wreck-it-Ralph should be posted this weekend. While I’m making the finishing touches, I decided to whip up the below blueprint of Six Act Structure for those who enjoy visuals. As you can see, there are two Acts contained in each of the three traditional Dramatic Phases. With the exception of Act Six (and Act One if there’s a prologue), each Act contains three Dramatic Episodes, the last of which being the Act Turning Point.

I didn’t get to cover The 16 Dramatic Episodes in Actions and Goals, unfortunately. The book was already pushing 400 pages! But, I intend to make the Dramatic Episodes the focus of the follow-up book. I hope to start work on that soon, but I’m currently focused on promoting and gathering feedback on the current book.

If you read Actions and Goals and found the information useful, I encourage you to leave a review on Amazon here! Good or bad, your feedback is very much appreciated.

Enjoy the blueprint and feel free to drop a comment to share your thoughts!

MD

Click to Enlarge
Click to enlarge

 

To learn more about six act structure, purchase your copy of “Actions and Goals: The Story Structure Secret” today!

Actions and Goals Book Cover

Story Structure Video Analysis: The Empire Strikes Back (Movie)

Marshall DotsonLeave a comment

Finally got the first video done! I suppose it’s technically the second one. I originally began work on a video breakdown for Inception, but ran into some copyright content issues that led me to set it aside for awhile. I should have that one posted this month. In the interim here’s the video analysis for The Empire Strikes Back. If you enjoy it don’t forget to “like” on YouTube!

Continue reading →

Where’s Marshall?

Marshall DotsonLeave a comment

Hey there, story peeps.

You may have noticed I haven’t posted anything in a nearly a month. A very astute observation on your part, but it’s all for good cause, I swear.

I’m happy to announce I have recently decided to add video breakdowns of Six Act Structure in films to my analytical repertoire. Yay.

Unfortunately, because I have little experience in video editing the process entails a bit of a learning curve that has taken longer than expected to climb. I had to find a good video software solution (I’m using HitFilm 4 Express), figure out how to use it (lots of tutorial watching), chop videos, write scripts, navigate YouTube copyright terms, etc. etc. etc. I won’t bore you with the details.

Suffice it to say that the first video should be posted by the end of February. Once the learning curve is surmounted, new posts should come more frequently. I still intend to post written breakdowns as well if that’s your bag.

Stay tuned. Good writing to all!

MD