Ctrl, Alt, Del: Three Act Structure

It’s right there on your keyboard!

I’m always looking for different ways to think about story structure because you never know when some metaphor or language is going to resonate with one of my blog readers, suddenly the proverbial light bulb going off in their minds: “Oh, now I get it!”

So a few weeks back as I was staring at my keyboard, lost in that haze writers slip into when they lose momentum in their writing and drift into a kind of mental never-never land, my eyes landed on those familiar computer keys:

control
alt
delete

I found this technical definition of what has come to be known as the “three finger salute”:

In a personal computer with the Windows operating system, Ctrl-Alt-Delete is the combination of keyboard keys that the computer user can press at the same time to terminate an application task or to reboot the operating system (have it shut down and restart itself).

That got me thinking: If, as Joseph Campbell asserts, the whole point of The Hero’s Journey is transformation, might we not think of that as rebooting the character’s operating system (i.e., way of being)?

So then I looked at those three keys as designations for three act structure:

Control (Act One): In their days leading up to FADE IN, the Protagonist has managed to cobble together a life, aggregating beliefs and behaviors, defense mechanisms and coping skills. They probably think they are in control, they’ve got their act together. However as Campbell says, “They are just making do and they need to change.” In fact, they need to lose that sense of control in order to discover their Core Essence which is lying dormant within.

Alternate (Act Two): Compelled out of their Ordinary World or Existence into a New World, they experience an alternate way of being, increasingly rejecting how they used to live while embracing their True Self which now, freed from Control, emerges into consciousness and the light of day.

Delete (Act Three): Their Inauthentic Way of Being, where they started their journey, falls by the wayside replaced by Authentic Nature. The old is deleted. The new is embraced. Through all the challenges and tests, they have been transformed.

So the next time you’re at your keyboard, consider those three keys: control / alt / delete. See if they resonate at all with you in terms of three act structure.

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