No matter their genre or focus, stories are about something happening—a shift in the status quo. Where the characters begin is not where they end. This may refer to their literal physical surroundings, or to a more metaphorical state of being—or, very possibly, to both. Whatever the case, it is important for authors to understand the idea of the four “worlds” represented within a story’s structure. The Normal World of a story’s First Act is perhaps the most referenced of the four. Fully understanding it (and the other three) can help you visualize a powerful story progression for your characters.

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If you’ve never visited K.M. Weiland’s website, Helping Writers Become Authors, you’re missing out. It’s impossible to describe to you just how much stuff she has on her website that’s so valuable to writers – lots of free stuff. Resources, blog posts, even a podcast. It’s like a treasure trove for writers!

Currently, Weiland is going through a series on the 3-act plot structure, and let me tell you that it’s definitely worth a read. A good, in-depth read. Not only does she clearly define and explain each act in the structure, how it functions, and what it does for your novel and its characters, but she also uses lots of examples from film to help drive the concept home.

These posts are extremely thorough and super informative while remaining interesting the whole way through, and I really encourage you to check them out. I’ve linked to the first post above, and you can find the other posts in the series from there.

But make sure you do take the time to read these posts carefully. As writers, we need to be constantly learning and trying to improve our craft – and what better way to do that than to learn from other writers?

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Photo by Edu Lauton on Unsplash