Post by Robin Ryuu on Apr 23, 2016 2:52:00 GMT -5
I have been researching the Three-Act structure a bit and I thought I would share my thoughts on what I noticed when trying to fit my Multi-Arc Series to it.
(I'm not going to go over the 3-A Structure itself in this so if you don't know what it is, Google is your friend.)
The 3-A Structure is interesting to look at, but, at least to me, it doesn't seem to fit a Multi-Arc Series. Not for thinking of the series' entirety anyways.
The series as a whole may have too many important turning points to fit the guidelines of the Three-Act Structure. But then again... Would you try fitting a series like Bleach into a single novel or movie? Of course you wouldn't. It would instead be turned into multiple containing where the major arcs begin and end. That division is where the 3-A Structure comes into play in a Multi-Arc Series.
If you think of your arcs as individual stories, like how novel series are divided up into books, and apply the Three-Act structure to the arcs themselves then things should become much clearer.
In a Multi-Arc/Multi-Book/Multi-Movie Series, the ending of each major arc/book/movie is probably what you consider to be the important turning points when considering the series as a whole. Those are the "3rd Acts" of each arc.
And just like there are no guidelines on how many books or movies should be in a series, there is no limit to how many major arcs can be in your series. Just keep it within reason and don't drag the story past where it should end, but that is a topic for another time.
Feel free to add your own thoughts below.
(I'm not going to go over the 3-A Structure itself in this so if you don't know what it is, Google is your friend.)
The 3-A Structure is interesting to look at, but, at least to me, it doesn't seem to fit a Multi-Arc Series. Not for thinking of the series' entirety anyways.
The series as a whole may have too many important turning points to fit the guidelines of the Three-Act Structure. But then again... Would you try fitting a series like Bleach into a single novel or movie? Of course you wouldn't. It would instead be turned into multiple containing where the major arcs begin and end. That division is where the 3-A Structure comes into play in a Multi-Arc Series.
If you think of your arcs as individual stories, like how novel series are divided up into books, and apply the Three-Act structure to the arcs themselves then things should become much clearer.
In a Multi-Arc/Multi-Book/Multi-Movie Series, the ending of each major arc/book/movie is probably what you consider to be the important turning points when considering the series as a whole. Those are the "3rd Acts" of each arc.
And just like there are no guidelines on how many books or movies should be in a series, there is no limit to how many major arcs can be in your series. Just keep it within reason and don't drag the story past where it should end, but that is a topic for another time.
Feel free to add your own thoughts below.
