The Three-Act Structure Visualized

Whether the three-act story structure is new to a you, or a favorite, take a visual tour.

May these different images and links of the different ways to think about the three-act structure spark your creative juices.

This post is part of a series on visualizing your novel.

Rise and Fall Over Time

Steven’s Balagan

Balagan’s 3 Act Structure

A deeper dive into the three act, balancing the protagonist’s journey with story tension

Euan Mitchell

The Three-Act Story Model: A Frameowrk Not A Formula

A detailed look at the three-act, with information on character

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Visualize Your Novel: Story and Plot Diagrams

Three Act Story Structure diagram from Reedsy.com
From Reedsy.com

If you are visually-oriented and producing a novel, take a look at different ways to chart your story — with plot diagrams and more. Story charts and plot diagrams can get the creativity train moving, so take a tour of the multiple-act framework, the wheel, and more.

Other posts in this series will cover other ways to visualize your story.

Visuals in the Round

Wikipedia

The Hero’s Journey, aka the Monomyth

” In narratology and comparative mythology, the monomyth, or the hero’s journey, is the common template of a broad category of tales and lore that involves a hero who goes on an adventure, and in a decisive crisis wins a victory, and then comes home changed or transformed.[1]

Kelsey Ruger, Slideshare.net

Inspire Story Wheel

Inspired Storytelling: Engaging People & Moving Them To Action

Derek Murphy, Creative Indie

The Plot Dot

“It’s kind of a plotting journal, with lots of blank pages, so you can sketch out each of your scenes in a tried-and-tested plot outline that focuses on the major, unskippable scenes that should be included in most fiction. “

Rage Against the Page

A Round View of the 4-Act Story Diamond

chapter mind map

Visualize Your Novel: Mind Mapping

If you are visually-oriented and producing a novel, you may find this visual tour of ways to design and develop your story helpful.

Part 1 of this series covers mind maps, with examples and links to beneficial resources.

Mind-Mapping

Visually brainstorm story ideas, characters, plot, outline, and more, unconstrained by ordering or structuring

Character Details

From the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School Library

You can explore character details

Characters, Quick

Wikipedia, My Antonia

A quick, fast way to brainstorm characters and relationships for your story

Hand-crafted Story Map

From Caroline Lawrence via Biggerplate

For some of us by hand is quicker than software. It also allows for more flexibility in colors, curves, and more.

Detailed Story Map

From Iain Broome

Map the story in detail, even adding clipart or photos if you wish.

By Reader Journey, Per Chapter

From Biggerplate

If you’re chapter-oriented in your thinking, consider the reader impact you want each chapter to have.

Map Your Scene

From Sina Ghaffarnejad’s digital portfolio

Brainstorm your individual scenes

Mind Mapping Can Help Organize Your Writing Process

Covers different kinds of maps and briefly how to use them.

A Guide to Storytelling with Mind Maps

Specific cases from idea brainstorming to defeating writer’s block to adding layers and context.

How to Mind Map a Novel Plot

Got a half-baked idea for a novel? This article will help.

How to Mind Map

A detailed beginner’s guide to mind mapping. Generalized.

The best mind map software of 2020

Tech Radar’s take on the best software for mind mapping.

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