🟦 Act 1: Exposition

Establish your characters, world, and the central conflict.

Core Elements:

• Introduce protagonist, setting, tone.
• Hint at the major problem or theme.
• Show the protagonist’s current status and flaw.
• End with the Inciting Incident — the moment that kicks the story into motion.

Checkpoint: The world is disrupted. The protagonist is forced to change direction or pay a cost.

🟨 Act 2: Rising Action

The protagonist begins pursuing a goal, but faces growing complications.

Core Elements:

• Introduce secondary characters and early obstacles.
• Begin character growth arcs — but the protagonist is still reactive.
• Subplots and tensions emerge (romantic, moral, ideological).
• Build momentum toward the first real success or dramatic complication.

Checkpoint: The protagonist is “in the game,” but still doesn’t fully understand the stakes.

🟧 Act 3: The Climax / Turning Point

A major shift — either a triumph or disaster — that reframes the entire story.