I’m not a fan of the hero’s journey or the 3 act structure. The third act or middle just remains this huge mass of undefined territory.
I like the idea of 4 acts or parts instead of 3 to break things down further.
Here’s what I’ve learned so far.
The four acts:
1. Setup
2. Response
3. Attack
4. Resolution
1. Setup – composed of hook, hero, stakes, foreshadowing, current world. Main character is an orphan without a purpose.
2. Response – composed of running, hiding, analyzing, calculating, observing, recruiting. Main character is a wanderer/responder with a purpose, but no good direction. S/he is fearful, hesitant
2. Response – composed of running, hiding, analyzing, calculating, observing, recruiting. Main character is a wanderer/responder with a purpose, but no good direction. S/he is fearful, hesitant
3. Attack – composed of overcoming, obtaining, leading, gets new information/skills. Main character is a warrior.
4. Resolution – composed of changing, overcoming, winning or sacrificing. No new information, skills or people can be introduced. Main character is a winner/martyer.
I’m currently editing the end of Act 1 Setup and am going to start working on the Response act soon.
Hope this is helpful to someone else.
Write On.
Deidra Alexander's Blog 
Deidra,
I’m enjoying your blog. How long have you been writing, and have you published any of your short stories in a magazine or anthology?
Thanks.
Sean
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I started writing off and on a few years back and just recently decided if I could make something of it. I’ve never been published but hope to change that soon.
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I am currently working on a non-fiction book (I have an agent, but am building a platform before we start marketing it to publishers). That said, I also recently started working on several science fiction short stories, which I hope to submit to several magazines before the year ends. We’ll see how that goes.
Also, I enjoy the artwork. It’s extremely professional.
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