Early in my career an executive once told me, “Great story, mediocre script.” When I pressed him on what made the script mediocre, he fumbled trying to explain – how it took too long to get to moment X or that moment Y had no conflict between the hero and villain – before finally settling on the fact that, “Look, it just didn’t read the way professional scripts usually read.” I told myself his lack of articulation meant he didn’t understand.

However, as I acquired more experience, I started to better understand what he meant. A viable script will have a clear three-act structure that’s driven by the protagonist’s actions and his interactions with an antagonist. This ensures that needed drama occurs as the story progresses, at a pace that will satisfy audience expectations. While sounding rote, the tried and true formula attracts studios, producers, directors, actors and others.

Most screenwriters have heard of three-act structure, but too often distill it down to having a “beginning, middle and end.” This won’t cut it. Hollywood professionals see three-act structure executed in a more precise way, where certain beats involving certain characters happen around certain pages. They might not realize your first act break didn’t involve your hero or that your midpoint came 10 pages too late, but they’ll “feel” that it’s off. And they’ll pass. Note the key anchors needed in a 120-page script so you avoid the feedback I got years ago:

Teaser & Set-Up

Establish the protagonist’s ordinary world in the first 15 pages – his life before something alters its course. Where we learn the kind of character we’re following, what he wants and what flaws he has. Moreover, the first two to five pages should be an opening sequence that teases the story to come and is so darn interesting, it immediately hooks the reader.

Inciting Incident

Something changes the protagonist’s world around page 15. Whatever it is, it should set up the conflict with the antagonist. You have some flexibility, but if your inciting incident goes much past page 20, you have too much set-up.

First Act Break

The protagonist needs to make a choice around page 30 to send him on his journey. Note: It can’t be someone else making the choice or the choice being made for him. Structure is built around the hero’s actions.

Rising Action

From pages 30 to 60, the protagonist makes progress in his endeavors. He and the antagonist act and counteract, back and forth. Ultimately, the protagonist rises toward his goal. Think of the character trajectories like this: as the protagonist rises, the antagonist falls and vice versa. This inverse relationship serves as the heart of screenplay conflict.

Midpoint

The protagonist hits a false high point around page 60. Why is it false? Because the protagonist hasn’t yet learned his lesson, overcome his flaw, or defeated the antagonist regardless of how things appear. It’s also critical to have another incident that alters the protagonist’s trajectory downward.

Falling Action & Betrayal Moment

From pages 60 to 90, the protagonist loses ground to the antagonist, and his life starts falling apart. He still hasn’t heeded the story lesson, and he alienates many around him. Halfway through this section, there is often a “betrayal moment” as well, where either the protagonist breaks someone’s trust or has his trust broken by someone else.

Second Act Break

The protagonist needs to be at the lowest point we’ve ever seen him around page 90. Lower than he was at the beginning. Lower than he’ll be at the end. All seems lost. Take your hero and drop him off a metaphorical cliff. At this point, some outside influence rallies him to stand up and fight.

Climax

The last quarter of the script is, of course, the showdown between protagonist and antagonist, including the build-up to get there. How it ends will define whether it’s a comedy or tragedy. If the protagonist prevails, he’s overcome his flaw, learned the lesson, and got what he needed, even if it’s not what he originally wanted.

Coda

While not necessary, the last couple pages can wrap up loose ends and offer the reader closure. No more than one or two scenes, though.

There’s a lot of creative leeway within this structure, and faithful execution is often what sets apart Joe Pro from Joe Schmoe. Once you find success following the rules, you earn wiggle room to break them, because others will know you understand them. Read as many professionally written scripts as possible (Drew’s Script-O-Rama has tons) to observe how the structure is employed in practice. Creating properly means not only a great story, but a great script, too.

BIO – Mark Heidelberger co-founded Beverly Hills-based Treasure Entertainment in 2000, serving as a film executive, producer and literary manager until 2011 before going freelance. Film and TV credits include Harsh Times, Comfort, Ninja Apocalypse, The Basement, Take the Night, Pray for Rain, Hallmark Channel’s You’ve Got a Friend and the recently released Last Night on Earth. Often times, he performs ghostwriting services on screenplays in addition to his producing duties. He is a member of the Producers Guild of America. He holds a BA in Film Studies from UCSB and an MFA in Producing from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television.