The secret plot structure no one talks about

We talk a lot about story structure on this blog. It's an important thing - without it, it's really easy to get lost in the book that you're writing. But there is a secret story structure (okay, not that secret) that I rarely see mentioned in my writing circles. 

By the way, if you haven't grabbed my plot jumpstart worksheet, this is a great resource to start plotting if you've never done it before. You can grab it for free here. 

This super-secret plot structure is called the five-act structure (or Freytag’s Pyramid). 

Freytag's Pyramid was a term coined by the German novelist Gustav Freytag in the 19th century. Like a lot of other prolific writers of the time, he looked around and saw that a lot of popular and powerful stories had similar structures, which he identified in the points we're about to cover below. 

Here’s what it looks like, and where you might have seen it before: 

Act 1 - Exposition (the setup)

Like other plot structures, there is where we introduce the Big Idea.  (World, characters, tone, core conflict). 

This is where we do the majority of the setup for the story. When you're working on the exposition, think of it as a stage: everything you put here will be a "stage" to tell the rest of the story. That includes all of the foreshadowing and character elements you'll need to have the biggest impact. 

Pro tip: When I use this structure and when I teach it to my students, sometimes I tell them to start at the last stage. When you know where you're going, it can make the setup a lot easier. 

Act 2 - Rising Action (tension building)

This is where you introduce the obstacles, decisions, enemies, and you raise the stakes. 

If this sounds familiar, it's because it is! Both the three act structure and the hero's journey cover trials, enemies, and obstacles in Act 2. This is a commonality a lot of different structures share, and it makes sense that Act 2 is also where the bulk of the story takes place. 

With that in mind, this is going to be a HUGE part of your book. The different acts won't be proportional to each other (meaning that if you do it right, they'll be different sizes). You can expect a fully developed and effective Act 2 to be the longest part. 

Act 3 - The Climax (turning point)

Everything you build in Act 2 leads to this moment. It usually requires a major decision or confrontation that changes the course of the story. 

This is one of the reasons I have my students work from back to front with this structure: after all, how do you know what you're building to if you don't? 

When outlining the climax, ask your question: If there's only ONE THING I want my reader to know about this story/world/character, what is it? That's typically what you reveal in this moment, and it will force your character to make a decision. 

Act 4: Falling Action 

This covers the consequences, because the climax is over, but the story isn’t. There is still quite a lot of tension! 

The most important part of this act is to explore the consequences of what happened previously in the story. For stories that have high stakes, there will also be high consequences - which is why this story is structure is a favorite within the dramatic arts. 

The idea here is to lean towards wrapping things up (which we do in Act 5) but to keep the tension high - that way, we hold the reader's attention all the way to the end. 

Act 5: Denouement (The resolution, if you don’t speak French)

This is the ending - loose ends get wrapped up, everything has changed, and we get to the “point” of the story.

To write an effective ending, you need to make sure that every question you ask in the beginning of the story is answered here. This is where we start to see the crazy guy with the red string everywhere - all of the pieces finally come together, and the reader goes, "oh! That makes sense!"

This is also why it's really important to have a strong outline when you go into writing - because you need to be able to keep track of all the threads of your story, so they tie up nicely here. 

If you want more info on how to write stronger outlines, click here. 

What does this look like in the wild?

So you might be wondering - where have I seen this wonky structure before? 

Use these examples to help you figure out if this is the right story structure for you: 

“Macbeth” by Shakespeare

Coming right out the gate with a classic story of betrayal, drama, and tragedy. I had to include this because (fun fact) I took a Shakespeare class every semester I was in college just because I wanted to - and because if you want to study structure, start with this guy. If you’re writing a story that focuses heavily on actions and consequences, 1.) read Macbeth and 2.) consider the five act structure. 

“The Godfather” - Coppola 

Another classic film (and one of the first films my now-husband and I ever watched together), “The Godfather” is another actions-and-consequences story of drama and suspense. If you want to write a character driven story that shows a massive change from start to finish, but is heavily reliant on the world around them, this is an example on how to do that well. 

“The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins

 A favorite of mine, mostly because it’s an amazingly written story - but if you think about it, most people talk about it because of its impact. What you should learn from this is that the five-act structure is all about the impact of the consequences on the character (and the reader)

A note on story structure...

“But Rachel! You’ve referenced all of these titles before with the Hero’s Journey AND the three-act structure. How can this be?”

Great question. Here’s the answer: 

You can combine structures. A lot of great writers do. 

In fact, a lot of great stories include different structures at different LEVELS of the story (which is a bit complicated for what we’re doing here, but still very interesting). 

For example, Katniss in The Hunger Games goes through a Hero’s Journey of her own. On a CHARACTER level, she has her hero story. 

But on a story level, EVERYONE goes through Freytag’s pyramid, to show the consequences of the story. 

Btw - I teach all of this (and a ton more) in my hands-on plotting toolkit. 

If you want some of my very best templates, tools, and story-building ideas, this is exactly what you need. 

Click here if you want to see it. 

Before You Go...

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