30 Things About Screenwriting: “Beginning. Middle. End.”

Consider the universality of narrative in three movements.

In Poetics, Aristotle wrote “A whole [story] is what has a beginning and middle and end.” His articulation of each of these three parts and how they fit together is as follows:

“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.”

Beginning. Middle. End. Three parts. Three movements. The number “3” is an interesting one.

• Three is first odd prime number and the second smallest prime
• There are three types of galaxies: elliptical, spirals, and irregulars
• Three basic Earth divisions: Igneous- Metamorphic- Sedimentary
• Freud suggested that psyche was divided into three parts: Ego, Super-Ego, Id
• Holy Trinity: Father — Son — Holy Ghost
• The three R’s: Reading — ‘Riting — ‘Rithmetic

There is an inherent sense of structure to the number 3: a triangle of three points; three pitches in a triad, the most basic form of a chord.

There is also a sense of finality upon experiencing that third part: third’s a charm; three strikes and you’re out.

Furthermore there are innate cycles in the physical universe that reflect three movements: Sunrise — Day — Sunset; Departure — Journey — Return; Birth — Life — Death.

So, too, in the world of ideas: Hegel’s dialectic of Thesis — Antithesis — Synthesis; classical music’s sonata form of Exposition — Development — Recapitulation.

This idea of these three movements [Beginning — Middle — End] is so fundamental to the human experience, it is little wonder it has dominated storytelling on Broadway and in Hollywood for more than a century — known as 3-Act Structure:

More than likely you have run into this concept. You may be so familiar with it, the very idea might seem rather obvious. Indeed there are those who deride 3-Act Structure as an outdated approach to screenwriting. I disagree. And I urge you in the strongest sense possible: Do not stray from Beginning — Middle — End.

First on a pragmatic level, whereas people involved in the moviemaking process may have varying ideas or understanding of story, it’s guaranteed they will all know the concept of three acts. Agent or manager, studio executive or producer, director or actor, everyone uses Act One, Act Two, and Act Three when discussing a script.

More importantly and directly related to screenwriting, these three movements undergird all aspects of the craft:

• Every scene should have a Beginning — Middle — End.
• Every sequence should have a Beginning — Middle — End.
• Every subplot should have a Beginning — Middle — End.
• Every screenplay should have a Beginning — Middle — End.

Beginning. Middle. End. Innate to story. Innate to screenplays.

Comment Archive

For the rest of the 30 Things About Screenwriting series, go here.