How Do You Define Story?

Sometimes I have difficulty constructing a story using the 3 part structure, my mind just can’t wrap itself around 3 acts.

What I often do instead is begin with a Before and After structure.  Like: Before Luke Skywalker lived a dismal life with his aunt and uncle on a desolate planet far from anything exciting.

After: Luke was a Jedi Knight, honored by beautiful princess and a hero of the rebal alliance.

Then I find it easier to just “fill in the gap” or “connect the dots.”

I write about all the things that brought him from the Before scenereo to the After scenereo. 

This structure, of course, evolves into a three act format naturally but it just seems to flow better for me because I am not trying to fit the pieces into a formual.

Charles Brown
Author of The Plot Thickens: How Case Studies Create New Customers