Chapter 7: act i structure – Mariner Software Contour for Mac User Manual
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Chapter 7: Act I Structure
W
ith the Central Question established, and always in the
forefront, itʼs time to get specific about how weʼre going to answer
it within the 108-115 pages of our screenplay.
Weʼve previously discussed a screenplay being divided into three
acts, and how if you divide the second act in half, youʼll have four
sections of approximately the same length.
We also mentioned that a script is made up exactly 44 plot points
-- no more and no less. Remember that a plot point is a discreet,
unique and essential chunk of story information. In the hierarchy
of screenwriting, it exists above beats and scenes and just below
acts.
Now, itʼs time to focus on Act I, with our hero in their Orphan stage
of Archetypal development.
In This Chapter:
Reiterating the Central Question
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