One morning back in 2006, the strangest thing happened. I hadn’t written anything since high school, but I woke up with an entire movie in my head. No idea where it came from, but it was there, and I felt the urge to write it down. I needed to get it out of my head and onto the paper! It was if I was remembering a movie that I had already seen from start to finish. There was even a soundtrack. The Beegees music was featured throughout my dream script.
Back in the day, I had won my fair share of essay contests and even remember writing a story about a young girl and a horse named Winnipeg. No idea why. I had never seen a horse and certainly wasn’t the young white girl in my story living on a farm. But I remember writing that story. What I wouldn’t pay to read that now, or to have a baby picture! But I won’t go down that rabbit hole. (And yes, there are no existing photos of me as a baby/infant. I have no idea why at 60 it still bothers me, but it does.)
Anyway, I had this movie in my head, and I guess I do know where it came from. Life experience! It was based on characters in my life as with most writing, even if the names and settings are different. Whatever the reason, I felt compelled to write it down. It is said, writers write what they most need to heal, but that’s a whole other story.
Having zero knowledge of screenwriting I did write it down. And, for whatever reason, I felt ballsy enough to give it to a friend, who just happened to be one of the top entertainment attorneys in LA. It wasn’t formatted properly. I had no clue what I was doing, but I did it anyway. That fearless soul I used to be, had resurfaced. So strange. In my younger days, I would just go for it. Aging seemed to be accompanied by insecurity and self-doubt. Anyway, working on that!
But back to my script. Basically, I just wrote out the story with descriptions and dialogue. He was kind enough to read it and offer some very valuable feedback. He told me that the main character needed work. (And did he! I mean, don’t we all?) He had no redeeming qualities. The audience needed a reason to like him no matter how big of an asshole he was. No one is all bad. (I think I have to disagree with that statement based on the state of current events, because a whole lotta folks are evil as shit!) But his feedback was very encouraging, and for someone that had never written a script, I felt pretty good about my ability to tell stories!
In any event, I took his advice. I had to look at the character that my main character was based upon and look for some redeeming qualities. The struggle was real at the time! Sure, he’s a d*ckh#ad, but If I dig, I can surely find some qualities to add to this character to round his ass out. As it turns out, I did. They were there.
I didn’t want to bother my attorney friend again about reading it until I had a more professional draft. So, I bought a bunch of books and took a few screenwriting classes. I was so thrilled when in class, the teacher explained the 3-Act structure and asked us to examine our scripts and see how they lined up. Well, it turns out that I had naturally written a script that fit the 3-Act structure perfectly. It was if I had taken the class, and then written the script.
At that point, I truly believed, “I can do this!”
Crazy things started to happen. Everywhere I turned, I saw a story to tell. I couldn’t shut it off. But I wanted to make sure that I learned as much as I could about the craft before sharing any more scripts. I had friends in the biz that I could impose upon, but I didn’t want to do that until I felt my scripts were the best they could be. Sadly, I haven’t shared another one since. Why? Because my insecurities squashed my confidence. That’s why! I never felt anything I wrote was good enough to share with anyone other than family and friends who always loved what I wrote but lacked the background or understanding of the craft to know whether it was a good script, and not just a good story. It must be both.
16 years later, there are about 12-13 scripts living on my laptop. I’ve yet to have the courage to send any of them to anyone. I birthed all these babies and have held them hostage.
I did finally get up the nerve to share some short stories I wrote. I’m also proud to say that I did find the courage (with the help of some friends and family) to produce them for the stage in 2018. It was one of the proudest nights of my life. The response was amazing. It was truly one of the best experiences of my life. I hope to experience those feelings again soon.
But this post isn’t about my insecurities. It’s about the lessons I learned about the 3rd Act in a three-act structure and how it applies to life. Real life. Not just in movies! If I believe I will live to be 90, (which is totally doable) then as of this past week, I have entered my 3rd act! It’s official.
So, what happens in the 3rd act in a screenplay? More importantly, what happens in my 3rd act? What happens in your 3rd act?
Well, in screenwriting the third act features the resolution of the story. It’s where the final battle takes place. The climax is where the main tensions of the story reach their most intense point. It’s where the dramatic question of the story is answered. It’s where the protagonist is left with a new sense of who he or she really is. It’s where issues get resolved and the audience sees a new normal and the potential for what the future might hold.
Up to this point, the protagonist has been tested time and time again throughout the story and is finally forced to confront the inevitable. (Which is sometimes his or herself!) The character tries one final time, but often tries something new and different. The audience has taken this journey with this character and wants to know that all is well in the end. They want to know how the character has changed and evolved. (Also known as the character arc.)
In the beginning of the screenplay, you’ve basically proposed a question that needs to be answered in the resolution of the story. Does the boy get the girl? Does the woman save the planet? (Notice I said woman because men, ya’ll are f’n things up!) Does the killer get caught? Does the family save the farm? Or in my case, does the insecure screenwriter ever sell as script? Hell, does the insecure writer ever send one out?
Does the protagonist defeat the antagonist in the final battle? Again, in my case, and in many scripts, the antagonist and protagonist are one in the same? The battle is internal. My battle is with insecurity. Am I a good enough writer? Can I handle rejection? That’s my battle. But here’s the thing, if you don’t fight and win the battle, you can’t win the war!
And that said, the defeat always occurs in the 3rd act. If it happened in Act 2, you would have no interest in continuing to watch!
I have cut and pasted info from various sites to save as notes for my writing, but I have no idea where I got this from, so I apologize to someone!
“The final battle might involve the protagonist’s worst fear. It might be something they’ve been dreading, that can no longer be avoided.”
While I don’t want to look at my 3rd act as some painful final battle, I am interested in the part where I try some new and different things. Where I battle my own demons and insecurities and I’m left with a new sense of who I really am, and all that I am capable of doing. Where I face my fears. I pitch and send my shit out to the powers that be, resulting in being published and produced. That before the 3rd act concludes, I get to see the words, “created by” preceding my name on a screen of any size.
Your life is your story. Whether you are in your 2nd or 3rd act, you can write your own story. And just like a screenplay, you can also rewrite it as many times as you need to.
Finally, remember what I said above about the 3rd act. It’s in the 3rd act that issues get resolved and the audience sees a new normal and the potential for what the future might hold. In other words, what might appear to be the end of one story, is also the beginning of another.
Write on, Sister! Write On!
Thanks! I’m trying.