I just recently came across this website:

http://www.truby.com/3act.html

Whatta' ya guys think about this? Agree with it? Disagree?

I think most scripts start to lose it near the end though, well the ones I've read anyway.

Basically the article was saying learn 1 genre really well and stick to it and instead of doing the 3 act structure you hear about focus on a beginning middle and end and let the characters drive the rest.

Which at the end of the day might be a little bit better than following the same old tired act structure.

I think the writer of the article missed the point or over-generalized or read a very bad book on screenwriting. What I have learned of the three act structure only really involves a couple of plot points in a larger story structure. This structure also only involves the main character and how he interacts with whatever you've come up with. Each Act in my book (literally) has two major points that the main character goes through. Is this the end all of writing the script? No, and I never said it was. I've also read that each individual character should go through their own little plot during the story. In Fempiror 3, I wrote out my six plot point for several characters and each character passed their points at different points during the story.

If he is reading books exalting the three act structure to the end all of writing, yes those books have a problem. However, using the structure as a starting place in plotting out a much larger, more interesting story is, in my opinion, its real purpose.

i stumbled across this article a couple of months ago. I found it quite hypocritical considering I'd recently downloaded a demo of Truby's Blockbuster software. If that isn't writing by numbers, I don't know what is.

While he's right in saying you shouldn't stick too closely to structures layed out in screenwriting books, it's still worth keeping the three act structure in mind especially if you are writing a linear, progressive story. It's a good way to keep up the pacing of your story and avoid getting bogged down in the second act.

Of course, not every story follows a three act structure but that doesnt mean we should dismiss a tried and tested formula that's been around longer than we have.

I think his point of everyone picking out different act breaks is either a stretch or people are watching different characters. I find most Act breaks occur with an event followed by a transition and then you hit the next act. For instance, I put the Act One break in the Lion King (why am I thinking of the Lion King?) at when Mufasa dies (event) and Simba is run out of the Pridelands (transition). The Act Two break is Simba's realization of his destiny (event) and he returns to the pridelands (transition). Act one occurs in the Pridelands (with a bit in the Elephant Graveyard), Act Two is in Timon and Pumbaa's paradise, and Act three is back at the Pridelands.

Is this the whole story? No! There is the whole Scar subplot that ruins everyone's life. Scar runs through his own transitions and events that intersect Simba's life and drive the plot forward. These units are rarely included in an outline of the basic plot structure because he is not the main character.

Can we actually plot Scar's own beginning, middle, and end? Probably, but it's purely subjective. His first act turning point is making plans with the hyenas. Scar kills Mufasa ending his first act. Scar tells Sarabi that they are not leaving the Pridelands ending his second act. His Climax is aligned with Simba's since he is the villain. That's my subjection on that.

If you pidgeonhole it, like this guy says, it won't work like he says. I'm not sure why he's damning it, though. It's not as if he suggested anything better.

Also it's one guys opinion so really why does it matter? If you're an accomplished writer, you know your craft and you don't have to listen, right?

You make a good point. He can shove his opinion up his nose and we'll move on with ourselves. I was just letting the poster know what I thought...  8)

Send the guy himself some hate mail telling him those thoughts, maybe he'll learn something... It's the internet, some people are only on it to cause reaction by spreading bull like a tabloid but for the mind.

Three act structure is unavoidable: Every complete story needs a beginning, middle, and end.  Those are the 3 acts.  Period.