The Three Act Structure

For most stories they are split in to three parts. The first, second, and third act. The three act structure has twists, turns, and specific moments in which certain things should be unfolding at certain times. Moreover, it's an organizational tool to help build your story.

**Aristotle stated that dramas have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Really cool since the Greeks invented drama. Screenwriters get much more detailed with requirements of what goes into three acts of a movie. The key takeaway is understanding that one event in the story goes into another event which unifies actions and creates the semblance of a story.

For a general idea of the three act structure, let's take a look at the essential parts, shall we? Here's a breakdown on Thunderbolts #26 from 1999 entitled "Lockdown."

First act-Introduction of the cast of characters.

Second act-Prison riot; Rhino breaks free.

Third act-MACH 1 stops riot. Then his actions are found out by the CSA (Commission on Superhuman Activities).

Neat, yeah? 

*Comics' legend Peter David pointed out that Aristotle's simple observations of beginning, middle, and end have been codified, institutionalized, or mummified. Editors, producers, etc, will be analyzing your story frequently based on whether they see the beats of the three act structure present. It will be helpful to know what they're looking for so you can be sure to accommodate them.

My Writing Challenge colleague Emily Moore will agree with the notion that we're dealing with a structure, not a formula. A formula results in a sameness that makes everything seem overly familiar and predictable. And she'll mention how films like Candyman hinges on the three act structure which will differentiate itself from other motion pictures.

Now we go in-depth into the three act structure. For research, I did an analysis of the Gundam: The 08th MS Team episode "Gundams in the Jungle."

First Act-Introduction of the team. Here in the first act of the episode, we meet the 08th Mobile Suit team (Ensign Shiro Amada, Michel Ninorich, Karen Joshua, Terry Sanders, and Eledore Massis). They are on their way to base for their first mission under ensign Shiro's command. Being introduced also is Commander Kojima who briefs the team on a Zeon base built somewhere in the jungle.

First act turning point-After a brief scrimmage with Zeon forces in the jungle, Shiro gets separated from the rest of the unit by going after the damaged Zaku drone.

Second act-The middle of the story. Ensign Shiro is hot on the trail of the Zaku but he ends up getting lost in the jungle (For the record, I say it's his damn fault for running off like that). Then he stumbles upon fresh water coming from a waterfall, where he encounters Kiki Rosita of the guerrila resistance. 

Second act turning point-Elsewhere from the action, Aina Sahalin is having tea & biscuits with her brother, the rear admiral Ginias Sahalin. They're discussing her brother's "dream" would soon become a reality, hinting of a weapon that will tip the balance of power in favor of the Zeon.

Third act-It's round two of Shiro vs the Zaku. 

Climax-Shiro unloads everything at the Zaku, defeating it. With their mission over, the MS team returns to base. Shrio sleeping in the cockpit while his Gundam was on autopilot ended the episode on a lighter note.

Whether you're writing a script for a movie or a comic, most stories in between those genres, hinge on the three act structure. 

Happy Creations!

Sources: *Writing for Comics & Graphic Novels with Peter David pg. 98

**Alyssa Maio. "What is the Three Act Structure in Film? No Formulas Necessary." https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/three-act-structure/

 

 

#OctWritingChallenge Final Report!

Hello all Halloween survivors!

Welcome to the #OctWritingChallenge final report!

After all the hours I put in with this WIP/comic script, I would like to say...It's done! Finished the fifth issue of my comic min-series, friends. But first let's take a look at the progress.

Day 22-1 hour & 30 minutes.

Day 23-1 hour

Day 24-No writing

Day 25-1 hour & 45 minutes

Day 26 thru 28-No writing.

Day 29-1 hour

Day 30-1 hour & 8 minutes

Day 31-2,871. The final word count.

The past month was a grueling one here but my peers in the Twitter Monthly Writing Challenge motivated me to see the project through. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be this close to wrapping up my story.

Day 26-28 was hard. The city of Pittsburgh was struck with tragedy when a synagogue was attacked by an active shooter. My heart went out to the Jewish community as I took those days off.

In these these turbulent times it's more important for us as a whole to come together and comfort each other, and begin with the healing process.

That's my writing progress for the month of October, friends. I'll see you soon.

#OctWritingChallenge Weekly Report #3: Late Edition!

Hi, all!

I welcome you to the Late Edition of my #OctWritingChallenge Weekly Report!

The past weekend was a bit of a drag since I wasn't in the groove like I was, then things got crazy on the normal side of my life. Now with it all settled I got down to business the past week and here's what I came up with.

No writing on Day 14-16

Day 17- 1 hour

Day 18- 1,464 words

Day 19- No writing. Took the day off to check the all new Halloween! Should be a treat for old and fans of John Carpenter and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Day 20- 1 hour

Day 21- 1 hour & 25 minutes.

After the three days of no writing I had reevaluate myself on time management. The key here is to not find the time to write but to make the time. This is my take away from this past week.

Until next time!

#OctWritingChallenge Weekly Report #2

Hello! Welcome to the Week 2 of my #OctWritingChallenge Weekly Report.

My progress is not too shabby but I can't argue with the results. Let's see how we did!

Day 8-9: No writing.

Day 10-1 hour & 25 minutes.

Day 11-1 hour.

Day 12-1 hour.

Day 13-1 hour & 40 minutes.

The story, so far, is progressing as I hoped for after I trashed it to oblivion. It was a painful choice to make but from what another set of eyes told me, this (character) was useless because (his critique on the character), the illustrator could use something that can tell him who the characters are so insert a character sheet.

The two cents given to me were insightful. I didn't think to come up with a character sheet that can give me an idea of who my characters are and how they function in my story. It's another lesson in writing I learned along the way as I prepared my pitch to a comics publisher.

1. Have a character sheet ready.

2. Give thanks to your support group, folks! I know I did.

That's it for my #OctWritingChallenge Weekly report. There's more to come. 

#OctWritingChallenge Weekly Report

Hello. Welcome to my #OctWritingChallenge Weekly Report!

Throughout the month of October I will report my progress with my WIP on the Twitter Monthly Writing Challenge.

Let's begin with my Week 1 progress.

Day 1-No writing

Day 2-1 hour & 5 minutes

Day 3-1 hour & 45 minutes

Day 4-1 hour

Day 5-No writing

Day 6-1 hour & 45 minutes. I kinda messed around for a few minutes so I added 15 minutes to make up for the time lost on social media. That's holding yourself accountable when writing, friend.

That's all for my weekly Writing Challenge report, guys. Be there as my progress for #OctWritingChallenge continues! Til next time!

Book Thoughts: Pandemic by Yvonne Ventresca

Last year I set a goal to read comics & graphic novels and YA fiction and I have to say there were some very fine reads. The one book that was entertaining was Pandemic by my Writing Challenge companion Yvonne Ventresca.

Recalling how Kristy Acevedo's the Holo series opened me up to young adult stories I took the challenge to read Ventresca's debut and I will say it really blew me away. The story touched on the human conditions of the protagonist dealing with a viral epidemic in her community and her own demons.

Like Acevedo, Ventresca touched on the humanity of the characters and their struggles of facing a natural disaster but she's touched another matter affecting people: Sexual assault.

Therein lies the true conflict, friends. The character of the story is dealing with a traumatic experience of the assault which left her emotionally weary of the outcome of everything and everyone around her. It also has a negative affect on her loved ones.

To me as a reader, it's rich in all its honesty because it had the same affect on me and that made me think about how issues such as what the main character went though can happen to anyone, and how damaging it can be to others as to the survivor, even as to blaming the victim.

    Another aspect to address is how a group of teenagers had come together in a time of crisis and helped others overcome which carried the story.

I highly recommend anyone looking for a new read for grades 8-12.

Twitter Monthly Challenge: Three Years Later!

June 23, 2014 was the beginning of a brand new trend for Twitter users who write.

High school English teacher and YA writer Kristy Acevedo made out this tweet that would be called the Twitter Monthly Challenge with the hashtag #JuneWritingChallenge.

Who's in? JULY WRITING CHALLENGE! Starting July 1st, write 500 words minimum each day for 31 days. #Julywritingchallenge #amwriting

— Kristy Acevedo ☮️📚 (@kristyace) June 23, 2014

Everyone had followed suit with the word count of 500 or more in a few days. Writers had begun sharing advice, motivation, musing about their favorite genres, and research complexities. The action would continue with #JulyWritingChallenge that would bring together all writers on Twitter.

Three years later, more challengers have come.

The task of being a Writing Challenge hashtag leader requires a daily commitment, as well as organization to keep track of progress from other challengers.

The rules are to write at least 500 words per day and post your results each day using the current hashtag.

As a participant, I will say joining the challenge has given me the motivation to start writing after a while and connecting with published or soon-to-be published authors. But I'm not the only one having fun with it. Here are testimonials from my compatriots:

I remember being one of the first who signed up. It's been helpful and rewarding.

-Nina Lake

Monthly writing challenge keeps me on track. It's so refreshing!

-Wendy Turner

I'm so grateful I found this writing group. Great people. Finished my book & the rewrite because of the Writing Challenge! Happy I found it.

-Christina Quesada

The Writing Challenge gives me an achievable goal, despite the challenges of writing, kids, and a full-time job.

-Brie Paddock

I've written 500 words every day so far this year. Never in my life have I been so motivated to to dedicate time to my writing.

-E.K. Moore

There you have it! The amazing results from our Monthly Writing Challenge. Are you a writer looking to get pages written? Come answer the challenge at our website!

 

 

 

 

Be Honest, be truthful, and be yourself.

When I was writing a blog during #FebWritingChallenge on Twitter I showed my writing group the second and third drafts, and they said "Looks good. But what are your thoughts on your topic" to "Are you writing for a grade?" I wondered what was I doing wrong with my article because 1) I was getting my thoughts out; and 2) It wasn't college related. Then it all hit me that I was coming at my blog like an academic rather than from my own angle.

Sharing the realization with my peers, one of them said:

Be honest, be truthful, and be yourself.

Thinking about it now, it's the best advice I'd ever gotten. Why? Because what you create in a song, painting, or a book comes from your own honesty. And that's what people want.

The characters in my stories have jobs like a barista, mechanic, or an accountant. However, I don't have any experience with their job descriptions. What I do know is how working a "normal" job can be stressful. You like it. You love it. You hate it. You don't wanna do it but you have to. The emotions of working is all there.

When you're writing with the earnest honesty you're coming in clear to readers, regardless of what kind of world you create from your own sweat and tears. They will identify with the "real" elements of your creation. Ice Cube once said this,

Our art is a reflection of our reality.

Bottom line: Write with honesty and truth. And above all, be yourself.

How "Consider" opened me up to YA fiction.

Tonight's blog is part book review, part personal account.

I've made it a personal goal to read ten authors this year and on the list is my Writing Challenge tweep Kristy Acevedo and her debut novel Consider (Holo series #1). Recalling my humble opinion how reading makes you curious, I pre-ordered the book on that account. Truth be told it's been a long time since I read a book rated T for teens.

My thoughts on Consider? It won me over. Acevedo created something that's thought provoking with heart about the idea of Holographic messages forewarning the end of the world and facing a critical choice to stay or leave.

For the heart aspect of the book is how the main character is facing a unnatural event as well her own anxiety disorder which touches the humanity of the book, and how it resonates with anyone with mental issues. It's the kind of turmoil delves deeper into the concept Acevedo's debut.

From a reader's standpoint, I didn't just enjoy Consider but I'm touched by how human the story is. This is on par with the earnest honesty that S.E. Hinton addressed in her novel The Outsiders. With that being said, this book has opened me up to the YA genre for the first time in years.


    My overall impression on my writing compatriot's novel is very good debut for teens, adults who read YA fiction, or better yet, all ages.

Now's a good time to "consider" a good read.

#MayWritingChallenge Final Report.

And we're back for the final report of the May edition of Twitter's Monthly Writing Challenge!

I officially wrapped up the month with writing 3 comic book scripts and ready to roll on to #JuneWritingChallenge with a new hashtag leader (check out the website for more). But I made an unexpected turn in my writing. When I was finishing the third (and supposedly the final chapter) of my comic mini-series, it was turning into a four issue story. As mentioned earlier this month, I broke my story down and reworked it from scratch because of it not being what I expected thanks to the input from my writing group. So for next month I'm going to write the conclusion.

And now for the Week 4 results:

Day 22-Finished the second part of the story with the final word count of 3,628.

Day 23-No writing. I had to take the day off so I can come back to the story with a fresh mind.

Day 24-Started strong with 521 words. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Day 25-Written 776 words in fifteen minutes. Slow start but I won't argue with myself on that number.

Day 26-Pushed it with only an hour and thirty minutes (90 minutes) on the keyboard.

Day 27-1 hour of writing.

Day 28-Wrapped up the writing session with 1,537 words after a 30 minute sprint.

Day 29-Another 90 minute session.

Day 30-The finish line at 2,476 words for comic book #3! Boo-yah, baby!

 The whole month has been fun and unexpected. I made a crucial decision for my story and faced a turnout that came out of the blue. What rewriting the whole book has taught me is that you'll be making tough calls for the sake of art, and to not be afraid to change it to something different if it's not working. As a whole, we artists had to tear down a project to make it work after a number of times it feels like it's not working or it needs something different to put it on the right track. That's a given notion.

All right, I got some plotting and words to write. Check out the Twitter Monthly Writing Challenge for details on how to join on their website. It'll be a fun experience, I'll tell ya what.

1 Love!

#MayWritingChallenge Weekly Report #3

Good morning and we're back with more #MayWritingChallenge progress by none other than, moi.

 Can you believe the month's almost over?

I can honestly say it's been rather a slow progression for me when I came back to Twitter's Monthly Writing Challenge after four in a half months of college courses. But that's the beauty of it. Progression is what you make of it in the work you do, friends.

All right, now. Let's take a look at my Week 3 results.

Day 15-1,336 words in 35 minutes. I wasted five minutes being distracted by social media and made up for it. Slow but I can't argue with what I put down.

Day 16-Took another 30 minute sprint for improvement. The result was 1,543 words.

Day 17-1,788 in 30 minutes.

Day 18-90 minutes of writing Wednesday night.

Day 19-1 hour & 16 minutes of writing.

Day 20-15 minute sprint. A little slow but I plowed through and finished with 2,447 words a little before midnight.

Day 21-2 hours of writing. I can see the finish line for the second issue of my WIP.

What's the takeaway from the past week? Keep trying those writing sprints. I know I can be a slow writer most of the time, but it's important to keep on to not only carve out a word count, but to improve your speed on the keyboard. Distractions are a given, yes. You just have to push through them with whatever the time you take for writing. For this week I'll take another shot at writing 30 minutes to improve my words per minute and move on to the next comic book script.

That's a wrap for my weekly writing challenge report. I'll catch ya'll cats at the end of the month!

#MayWritingChallenge Weekly Report #2!

Good morning all!

We are back with Week two progress for #MayWritingChallenge! All my peeps are getting it in with their own thing and they are blazin'!

Alright, here is my progress for the week!

Day 8- 1 hour.

Day 9- 90 minutes.

Day 10- Finished my first comic book issue with the final word count of 2,322!

Day 11- 1 hour & 35 minutes on comic book #2.

Day 12- I did my first 30 minute sprint for the first time in weeks. I was kinda slow but I carved out 739 words.

Day 13- No writing.

Day 14- Another 90 minute session.

I can really feel myself getting back in the groove this month. But I'm not rushing it one bit. The key factor in writing, in my opinion, is patience. Right now, I'm just taking my time with my work as I make my way back to my comics.

That's a wrap for week 2 of #MayWritingChallenge! Keep it locked for next week!

#MayWritingChallenge Weekly Report

I'm baaaack!

Yes, after a busy eight weeks on the community college campus with some writing in the books, I'm getting back in the game during #MayWritingChallenge. But instead of carving the 90 minutes grind like usual I had to take it slow with only writing for an hour because I'm a little rusty. Also I took one of my comic books in progress and did the unthinkable...obliterate it and work from scratch!

Why? I saw what didn't work for my story and I wanted one of the secondary characters to have some more action.

Here's my progress for the first week:

Day 1- 1 hour of editing.

Day 2- 1 hour of editing. After reading the critiques from my writing group I saw that I had to smash it to pieces and write it all over again thanks to Chuck Wendig's "25 ways to Unfuck your Story." Sometimes if it doesn't work...you just have to erase everything and start over.

Day 3- I got back into the writing groove with only 1 hour & 30 minutes which is just the beginning for me honestly. I wasn't in a rush to get it done so I'll just settled for it until next time.

Day 4 & 5- 1 hour of writing.

Day 6- No writing. I earned a day off to check out Captain America: Civil War! Believe me when I say you're in for a treat!

 Day 7- 1 hour & 20 minutes.

And that's my week 1 report for # MayWritingChallenge. Be here next week as I punch in 500 words or more!

Why I write for Comics?

A blog from a Writing Challenge compadre gave out a clear definite reason why she writes the genre she loves had got me to thinking about the reasons I'm writing for comics. I've asked myself why for a while and let me tell you there's no easy answer. I felt that everybody's got a reason for writing for the genres they represent as I struggled to find mine. Then I realized they've been a part of me from the very beginning.

I didn't choose comics; comics chose me.

 Comics & graphic novels were an instrumental part of my growth as a person. They showed me the fantastical world of fantasy like any book I've read growing up. Granted it was the artwork of some best names out in the industry like Mark Bagley or Ming Doyle. Recalling The Death of Superman being my "first" comic, I was mostly excited because of the art by Dan Jurgens. Not only that my mom would read it to me whenever I asked her to.

As a boy I even tried to draw like the artists in the comics.

Going into my early teens, I had Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives collected as a TPB (trade paperback) and Spider-Man/Kingpin: To the Death before going my lone quest to find any comics store in my area. From middle school to almost throughout high school I collect what came out at the time and back issues until my retirement at 19.

 Sometime in my twenties, I decided to expand my writing to novels and that didn't work out so great because I don't have a handle on prose despite how much I've read it. Basically I didn't have the patience to write 300 pages worth of words to save my life. Once I wrote a graphic novel just out of nowhere, I saw where I can expand myself creatively by writing for comics. Of course it was hard. But nonetheless I had fun creating something of my own imaginative mind. It's all clear that comic books have never left me at all.

Comics are my definition of who I am.








 

#JanWritingChallenge Recap!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Anybody have a good time? Good. Fantastic. Me too.

Me? I am undertaking a very humbling task this month: #JanWritingChallenge leader! That's right. All this month I'll be handing out props to my Writing Challenge tweeps for hitting their daily word count of 500k or more. How does it look? It's goes like this:

Celebrate Good Times, Come On! #JanWritingChallenge @LauraElleV @harmony_writes @LKid @AmalieCantor @MiaSiegert @JohnHaas11

— Andrew McQueen (@jussdru) January 1, 2016

And that's just the first day of being a Writing Challenge leader, friends. This what my second day looked like:

The following word slayers please stand up! @LauraElleV @AmalieCantor @AuraEadon @GuildofFeathers! #JanWritingChallenge

— Andrew McQueen (@jussdru) January 3, 2016

More challengers standing up tonight! @ElizaNolanPants @HeatherJacksonW @HesterBFox @kristyace! #JanWritingChallenge

— Andrew McQueen (@jussdru) January 3, 2016

The first two days have been fun cheering on everyone in my group. In fact, being part of this great group is one helluva ride, because every one of them has given a great deal of support and encouragement when my motivation dwindled for a time. I'm greatly thankful for Kristy Acevedo (@kristyace) and the whole Writing Challenge team for having me on board as their leader of January and welcoming me during #JuneWritingChallenge 2015. Much love to all them. If you'll excuse me, I have to find more challengers.

Writing Habits: The 90 minute Session.

Since I jumped aboard the #writingchallenge group in June, I've developed some writing habits that have become helpful while jumping back on the saddle.

I know some people can't spare the time due to not "having the time" to sit down and write because of various reasons like day job demands or wishing they have time to write.

How do I handle such diversions outside the craft? Take at least an hour & thirty minutes (90 minutes) a day to write. Did I hear somebody in the third row say "90 minutes? But I can't spare that kind of time to write my paranormal romance novel in a month with just 90 minutes a day." Yes you can.

If there's anything I learned from my writing challenge compatriots is that it's not about the numbers, it about the daily commitment. During my writing sessions I carved out a word count of 2k and the results are amazing.

When writing for just 90 minutes, you're developing good writing habits on days you just want to lay off and binge through Netflix, or in my case, a comic book collection.

Now for what the experience has taught me, it's the following essentials every writer needs:

1. Commitment. That's what the challenge is about. You're not only putting down the words per page, you're building a sense of commitment to your project as you take an hour & thirty minutes of your time to write.
2. Accountability. Like any writer, I try to set a personal goal to hit high word count. But at times when I don't, I take a look at my shortcoming(s) and take it as a lesson for when I get back to the next session.
3. Have Fun with It. Yes. That's what I do when doing my writing sessions: have fun. Writing is a solitary endeavor, but the basic essential here is to enjoy every minute of telling the story you want to tell, friend.

Now before you say you'd love to take 90 minutes to write that novel or what-have-you, but can't spare the time, make the time. See what the results come from it. Let your writing discipline build as well your word count.

Happy Creations!