The specific order of events within a story is unique. This sequence rises up naturally from the choices an Author makes in regards to character dynamics and the ultimate message they want to communicate to their Audience. Uncovering the proper structure beneath every story is a long and arduous process that, if done correctly, can transform a single piece of narrative fiction into a timeless classic.

Acts exist as a way of focusing dramatic attention on the different ways characters can go about solving their problems. There is more to these general areas of story than simply dividing up a story into Beginning, Middle and End. Writers who wish to create something meaningful can start by giving purpose to the turning of an Act.

The modern writer’s life comes complete with amazing tools engineered to make the writing process as painless as possible. Of course, the actual writing of a piece will always be fraught with difficulties, but there are several applications available now for the Apple iPad and iPhone that make managing the development stages of a work of fiction frictionless and enjoyable.

Aristotle tells us stories have a Beginning, Middle and End. Syd Field and Blake Snyder tell us the Second Act has a Midpoint effectively dividing it in two. The truth is, all of them are confusing the forests with trees. There are really four movements in every complete story, a reality based on the fact that the mind’s problem-solving process follows the same approach.

As formulaic as they may seem, plot points are intimately tied to the meaning of a complete story. More than simply a way to hit beats that should happen at page 30 or page 90, these events or decisions energize the problems that sit at the heart of a story’s internal structure. Without them, there would be no movement and no meaningful path for the characters to follow in their efforts to resolve the inequities they face.

Perception often leads to deception; how one sees the world of story shapes their understanding of it, granting them all sorts of interpretations that may or may not be accurate. As with Christopher Nolan’s dark treatise on dueling magicians, unveiling what is really going on within a story can lead to an emotional catharsis for writers themselves; leading them to even greater expressions of meaningful fiction.

Stories are a decidedly human adventure and thus are prone to the inaccuracies and preconceptions prevalent within the minds of those who experience them. It is with that in mind that I confess an error in my original evaluation of Toy Story 3. If context creates meaning, then it also can be seen as the source for any miscalculations in the judgment of a story’s ultimate message.

The idea that the Protagonist is always the centerpiece of a well-told story is a fallacy. While this is most often the case in popular American cinema, there are literally thousands of complete and meaningful stories that can be created wherein the audience has no personal attachment to the one character driving things forward. Limiting oneself to an understanding that is easier to get leaves a writer open to creative suppression.

There are two ways to adapt a favorite novel or short story for the silver screen — the right way and the wrong way. The first requires a comprehensive understanding of the original source material. The second only needs an ambivalence towards the mechanism behind what makes great stories great.

Identifying the problem within a screenplay is one thing, offering up a viable workable solution is another. The key is honoring the work that is already there. Healing a false moment, like resolving the differences between two characters, should come as a natural progression of events and inflict the least amount of damage in the process.