“What is the beginning, middle and end of the scene?”
Aristotle described a story as having three parts:
“A whole [story] is that which has beginning, middle, and end. A beginning is that which is not itself necessarily after anything else, and which has naturally something else after it; an end is that which is naturally after something itself, either as its necessary or usual consequent, and with nothing else after it; and a middle, that which is by nature after one thing and has also another after it. A well-constructed Plot, therefore, cannot either begin or end at any point one likes; beginning and end in it must be of the kind just described.”
One could argue the concept of three-act structure began with this articulation by the great Greek philosopher thousands of years ago. But its roots go to something more primordial. Consider just a few examples of the presence of three movements in nature:
- Birth — Life — Death
- Seed — Growth — Harvest
- Departure — Journey — Return
Narrative as three movements, I would argue, is innately tied to existence itself. Thus it should not be surprising to consider this idea:
A screenplay has three acts. So does each scene.
Beginning. Middle. End.
What is the scene’s Beginning? What is the scene’s Middle? What is the scene’s End?
Whereas a scene’s type can vary, as well as its structural and emotional goal, the three movements as represented by beginning, middle and end are pretty much universal to all scenes. The specifics may change, but it figures that this tripartite structure is endemic to scenes just as it is to story itself.
Moreover there are turning points that serve as transitions from a scene’s beginning to middle, and middle to end.
So when you are writing each scene, be sure to ask:
What is the beginning, middle and end of the scene?”
I encourage you to head to comments to discuss today’s questions. And for a related discussion on The Black Board, check out these topics:
The Quest” has entered Week 19! And so did Go On Your Own Quest, an opportunity for anyone to follow the structure of “The Quest” to dig into screenwriting theory [Core — 8 weeks], figure out your story [Prep — 6 weeks], and write a first draft [Pages — 10 weeks]. It’s a 24-week immersion in the screenwriting process and you can do it here — for free!
Today and every Monday through Friday for 10 weeks, I’ll use this slot to post something inspirational as GOYOQ participants pound out their first drafts.
Why not use the structure of this 24-week workshop to Go On Your Own Quest? That was an idea that gathered energy among many members of the GITS community which I described here.
For more information on Go On Your Own Quest, go here.
Plus you can join The Black Board, the Official Online Writing Community of the Black List and Go Into The Story, another free resource to help keep you inspired and on target at you Go On Your Own Quest from FADE IN to FADE OUT on the first draft of your original screenplay.
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