WIM+AI – Module 2 -Lesson 5: Four-Act Transformational Structure

[Frank Gaide]

FRANK’S FOUR ACT TRANFORMATIONAL STRUCTURE

I can see myself writing two great, marketable screenplays every year going forward and teaming up with a manager/friend. Short term, I imagine a very difficult but valuable and rewarding six months going balls to the wall in this class.
Completing this assignment, I discovered my idea of 4 acts is very different from the AI versions. I say versions because I changed elements numerous times to see what changes would be created. I learned that all the AI versions continually shifted my progression of events: moving some key twists closer to the midpoint. This exercise gives me food for thought. Just must decide what I can use with my vision, or not. I’m also having fun changing-up the AI input. The danger is I could do this forever!

CONCEPT: A bride’s wedding plan is hijacked by her divorced parents’ feud, so she decides to give them a push—into killing each other.
MAIN CONFLICT: An insecure bride, Lucy, defends her green wedding against her bitterly divorced parents who slowly hijack her perfectly laid plans without regret or reason. So, Lucy plans to send them to an early grave to stop them cold.
OLD WAYS:
– Pleased everyone but herself.
– Afraid of authority.
– Subservient. Insecure about speaking her mind.
– Would let everyone go in front of her.
– Never protected what she cared about most.
– Perfectionist.
NEW WAYS:
– Fearless to protect her green wedding plans.
– Stands up to her controlling parents.
– Defends herself and her groom/husband.
– Confident to make the tough decision killing her parents.
– Perfectionist.
ACT 1
OPENING: A lakeside campground wrecked with overturned tables, chairs, wedding guests recovering from a brawl, ambulance attendants examining people, and the local police on the scene interviewing Gerald, the groom, near the dead parents of Lucy, the bride, laid out on the lawn next to a crushed wedding cake.
Groom tells Lucy’s story from when her dad, Frankie, cheated on his wife, Vivian: to how Vivian painted his SUV with curses: to Lucy moving to Cape Cod working for green energy: to Lucy falling from a tree while protesting and saving its removal. The police remembered her injury.
INCITING INCIDENT: Gerald’s story moves into a real time flashback of events. Vivian reads a wedding invitation in her hands while working at her hair salon with customers. Lucy receives a phone call from Vivian while Lucy is in that tree. Her mother is angry and adamant about not having a green wedding, demanding it be held at the Ritz. Vivian Challenges Lucy to call her dad, Frankie, because she figures he will never come back from Florida to help Lucy. Frankie is an absent father. But Frankie agrees to come and help Lucy to spite his ex-wife, Vivian.
TURNING POINT: Lucy meets with her dad again after many years apart and we learn about her passion for a green world. Frankie learns about her green wedding when Lucy picks him up from the train station and drives him to the rented campground on Cape Cod. This is when Frankie and Vivian meet for the first time in decades and their obvious mutual hate begins. This upsets Lucy, bringing back old memories she can’t deal with.
ACT 2
NEW PLAN: Now that her bitterly divorced parents are here at the campground, Lucy tries to help them be friends again.
PLAN OF ACTION: She instructs them how to help her put together all the unfamiliar green elements of her eco wedding. Perhaps they can work together and put aside their animosity and differences for the good of her dream wedding. They try but fail. We are introduced to what a true green wedding is with all the unusual eco saving elements. But Vivian refuses to help. Frankie is too clumsy. And the parents’ only goal becomes to hurt each other.
MIDPOINT TURNING POINT: Groom, Gerald, arrives at the campground. After witnessing how difficult and upsetting the bitterly divorced behavior is for Lucy to deal with her parents in a rational friendly way, he suggests that they simply keep the parents away from each other until after the wedding day.
ACT 3
RETHINK EVERYTHING: Lucy with Gerald’s help keep Frankie and Vivian from seeing each other as best they can. But now that the parents don’t really know what the other is scheming, they each begin sabotaging each other with outlandish pranks to get the best of one another. Their childish behavior soon steals all of the guest’s attention away from Lucy’s perfect wedding, and Lucy can see how she is losing the one thing that she treasures most: her wedding.
A NEW PLAN: Lucy, with Gerald’s backing, tries to convince her parents to leave the wedding plans that are ongoing in the campground and stay at local motels until the big wedding day. But they refuse, become angry at Lucy and Gerald. So, Lucy baits them into exchanging the most dangerous and outlandish pranks yet. But even this won’t get them to leave the campground.
TURNING POINT: HUGE FAILURE/MAJOR SHIFT: Lucy is at her lowest, feeling defeated, and estranged from both parents. But she discovers a meanness within herself from watching her parents’ war evolve. To rescue her wedding day, she must be bolder than even her parents, more independent, more selfish and in control of her destiny. She decides with Gerald to trick her parents into killing each other during the wedding ceremony and end her parents’ misery forever.
ACT 4
CLIMAX/ULTIMATE EXPRESSION OF THE CONFLICT: The Wedding Day progresses through off and on rain showers. Lucy is conflicted whether to go through with her plan to have her parents kill each other, or not. Guests are enjoying themselves even though Frankie and Vivian are becoming increasingly more annoying. With the cutting of the cake, Frankie and Vivian finally get into a shoving match on the dance floor. Lucy exits embarrassed. Gerald offers her parents slices of cake to hopefully get them to relax and begin a truce. Her parents push the cake into each other’s face. The wedding escalates into a brawl between guests.
RESOLUTION: The real time flashback ends. We are back with the police interviewing Gerald, the groom. The parents lay on the ground dead with cake smeared across their faces. Gerald’s story of events ends. The police attribute the deadly aftermath to a series of sad events between the parents that no one, even Lucy or Gerald, could have prevented. Gerald exits the immediate area and joins a distraught, Lucy, reflecting on events by a nearby lake. As he comforts her, he tosses a vial of poison into the water. Lucy admits she could not go through with it. Gerald repeats the police investigator’s belief that the parents simply brought upon their own deaths by choking on the cake.

4-Act Transformational Structure for The Cake Did It!
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Old Ways
Lucy is a perfectionist bride, struggling with insecurity and always caving to her domineering, bitterly divorced parents. She wants to please everyone, including her parents, and is unable to stand up for herself or protect her wedding vision.
________________________________________
Act 1:
• Opening:
Lucy is happily planning her perfect green wedding, a lakeside event with an eco-friendly theme. She meticulously organizes everything, but her divorced parents, Vivian and Frankie, are an uncontrollable feud waiting to erupt. Vivian wants the wedding to be luxurious, pushing for a Ritz Carlton Boston venue, while Lucy insists on her green vision, and her father Frankie reluctantly agrees to attend to financially help out, although his main reason for being there is guilt.
• Inciting Incident:
Vivian and Frankie arrive at the lakefront campground for the wedding weekend. Their hostility toward each other immediately disrupts Lucy’s plans. Vivian criticizes the entire wedding setup, trying to force her preferences, and Frankie retaliates, fueling their ongoing war. Lucy starts to lose control over her wedding as her parents’ feud escalates.
• Turning Point:
Lucy, realizing she can’t manage the situation, turns to her groom Eric, who begins subtly suggesting that Lucy may need to take more drastic measures to keep control of her wedding. For now, Lucy still clings to the hope that she can fix things without violence.
________________________________________
Act 2:
• New Plan:
With Eric’s encouragement, Lucy decides to enlist Frankie to counterbalance Vivian’s aggression. She hopes that by playing her parents against each other, she can regain control of her wedding without direct confrontation. She tries to pit them against each other strategically, thinking this might diffuse the situation.
• Plan in Action:
Lucy’s attempt to manage the feud backfires. Her parents sabotage each other at every turn, escalating their rivalry to more extreme and even violent levels. The physical and emotional attacks between them start affecting the entire wedding party. Lucy feels trapped as her perfect wedding crumbles around her.
• Midpoint Turning Point:
Lucy reaches her breaking point when the sabotages become dangerous and disruptive, overshadowing the wedding entirely. Eric steps in with a bold suggestion: if Lucy wants to regain her happiness, she might need to get rid of her parents for good. This dark notion sparks a shift in Lucy, and she starts contemplating killing her parents to stop the chaos, but she’s still hesitant.
________________________________________
Act 3:
• Rethink Everything:
Lucy begins to seriously consider Eric’s plan. She’s at her lowest, realizing her parents’ toxic behavior has controlled her life, and now it’s ruining the most important day of her life. She starts to see that if she doesn’t act, she may lose more than her wedding; she could lose her future happiness with Eric.
• New Plan:
Lucy hatches a plan to manipulate her parents’ mutual hatred, pushing them into a final, fatal confrontation after the ceremony. She convinces herself that their deaths will be an “accidental” result of their own behavior, and this will finally allow her to take control of her life.
• Turning Point: Huge Failure / Major Shift:
At the last moment, Lucy balks at the idea of killing her parents. She doesn’t go through with the plan. However, during a particularly heated altercation between Vivian and Frankie, they inadvertently kill each other by smothering one another with the wedding cake. Lucy is left stunned by the accidental outcome, feeling conflicted between relief and horror.
________________________________________
Act 4:
• Climax/Ultimate Expression of the Conflict:
Lucy is emotionally paralyzed as she watches her parents die in front of her, realizing she didn’t need to take the final step to kill them—they destroyed each other without her help. Eric steps in, calming Lucy and reassures her that she’s not responsible for their deaths, attributing it to a “natural” chain of events, which brings Lucy a measure of closure.
• Resolution:
Eric, ever the clever partner, discreetly disposes of the evidence (the cake, the “murder weapon”) without Lucy’s knowledge. The couple drives away from the wedding, leaving behind the chaos. Lucy, now a married bride, has transformed. She’s gained confidence, learned to stand up for herself, and embraced the idea that sometimes, letting things happen as they naturally would is enough. In the end, she feels both liberated from her parents’ toxic control and proud that she didn’t actively take their lives.
________________________________________
New Ways
Lucy now embodies the traits she once lacked. She is fearless in protecting her green wedding ideals, stands up to authority, and is willing to defend what she cares about most—even if it means making hard, morally ambiguous decisions. Her journey from subservience to empowerment is complete, and she now stands on equal footing with Eric, ready to face whatever comes next with newfound confidence.

[Brian Bull]

BRIAN BULL – 4 Act Transformational Structure

My Vision: I’m a writer that producers want to work with and can’t wait for my next script!!!

“What I learned from doing this assignment is…?” My story is starting to take shape. I need to worry less about the details and just focus on the BIG PICTURE.

ASSIGNMENT

Create a first draft of your 4 Act Transformational Structure.

2. Give us the following:
CONCEPT = A birdwatching excursion from a luxury cruise turns into a deadly fight for survival when tourists stumble upon a cartel’s covert operation on a remote Caribbean island.
Main Conflict = The surviving tourists, a husband and wife, must use their wits and hidden strengths to outmaneuver a ruthless cartel determined to eliminate all witnesses.
TOM WALKER OLD WAYS =
Full of doubt
Shy around others
Stresses over the simplest tasks
Marriage in jeopardy

TOM WALKER NEW WAYS =
Protective husband
Confident
Capable of anything
A leader

3. Fill in each of these with the answers you have right now.
Act 1:
Opening = Tom Walker and Sarah Walker (husband/wife) have martial problems and take a cruise to rekindle their relationship. They take a birdwatching excursion on a remote island.

Inciting Incident = They witness the Mexican Cartel through binoculars conducting covert operations when Sarah gets stung by a bee and shouts in pain. The cartel are alerted to their presence.

Turning Point = The Tom/Sarah see that the cartel have taken some of their group hostage.

Act 2:
New plan = They can’t leave the island and must recuse the other tourists.

Plan in action = Tom and Sarah discuss a plan which includes them getting a signal out at the radio tower, the cartel fire at them, and they don’t know if it worked.

Midpoint Turning Point = They are separated.

Act 3:
Rethink everything = Tom devises a plan using the lens from the binoculars.

New plan = They set a fire to draw the attention of the cartel

Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift = Sarah is captured in the process.

Act 4:
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict = Sarah gets into a scuffle with Maria and gets her gun but El Jefe threatens Sarah’s life. Tom manages to rescue Sarah and everyone else in a display of heroics.

Resolution = the radio signal they sent worked and a rescue helicopter arrives, the cartel are arrested.

5. To convert your 3-Act Structure to 4-Act Transformational Structure, use this prompt:
Old Ways:
Tom Walker starts as hesitant, stressed, and withdrawn, both in his role as a Prop Master and in his marriage. He must rise to meet the threats on the island and reconnect with Sarah under life-threatening pressure.

Act 1: The Setup
Opening:
Tom and Sarah Walker, aiming to repair their marriage, board a luxury Caribbean cruise. The tourists they meet add a light-hearted atmosphere, hiding the danger ahead.
Inciting Incident:
During a birdwatching tour, Tom, Sarah, and other tourists stumble upon a cartel unloading illegal cargo. When they’re spotted, El Jefe orders their deaths, plunging the group into immediate danger.
Turning Point:
Fleeing into the jungle, Tom and Sarah are thrust into survival mode, witnessing cartel violence against fellow tourists. For the first time, Tom must rely on his survival skills and trust Sarah to navigate their deadly circumstances.

Act 2: Confrontation and Discovery
New Plan:
The remaining tourists, including Tom and Sarah, take refuge in an abandoned radio tower. Here, Tom's Prop Master background starts to emerge as he devises rudimentary survival strategies. Sarah also learns she's pregnant but decides not to tell Tom to keep him focused.
Plan in Action:
Tom manages to send a distress signal, giving them a glimmer of hope. He and Sarah develop makeshift defenses, using whatever resources they can find, and Tom steps into a leadership role, gaining newfound confidence and skill.
Midpoint Turning Point:
The cartel finds them at the radio tower. In the ensuing fight, several remaining survivors are killed, but Tom and Sarah escape. Tom faces off with Maria, El Jefe's assassin, where Maria hesitates—a hint at her inner conflict. This moment leaves Tom and Sarah as prime targets and deepens Tom’s sense of responsibility for Sarah’s survival.

Act 3: Escalation and Transformation
Rethink Everything:
Fleeing deeper into the jungle, Tom and Sarah are isolated. Sarah’s pregnancy weighs on her mind, heightening her vulnerability. Tom realizes he can no longer rely on his old, uncertain ways and must fully commit to becoming the protector Sarah needs.
New Plan:
Tom, now embracing his role as a leader, decides to face the cartel head-on. Using his Eagle Scout and Prop Master skills, he designs traps and strategies, turning the island into a weaponized landscape. He commits to protecting Sarah at any cost.
Turning Point (Huge Failure / Major Shift):
Tom’s carefully laid plans backfire when Maria captures Sarah, revealing her secret agenda to kill El Jefe. Tom must now adjust his focus to rescuing Sarah and eliminating both El Jefe and Maria if they are to survive.

Act 4: Resolution and New Ways
Climax:
In a brutal showdown on the island’s edge, Tom confronts El Jefe in hand-to-hand combat. Meanwhile, Sarah breaks free and faces Maria, whose inner conflict has reached its peak. In a desperate move, Sarah kills Maria, ending the threat and her divided loyalties.
Resolution:
With the cartel defeated, Tom and Sarah, physically and emotionally scarred, reach the shore as a rescue helicopter arrives. They embrace, with Tom now transformed into a protective, decisive leader. As they leave the island behind, both are ready for the challenges awaiting them, including Sarah’s pregnancy.

New Ways:
Tom Walker emerges as a confident, resourceful protector, no longer the insecure Prop Master but a leader who has proven his worth. The ordeal strengthens his relationship with Sarah, who now sees him as a capable husband ready to face whatever lies ahead.

• This reply was modified 6 months, 3 weeks ago by  Brian Bull.

[Demethress Davis]

Deme’s 4 Act Transformational Structure

MY VISION: I am a EGOT writer who is very successful and revered by the industry for writing amazing stories that will live on in history.

What I learned from doing this assignment is the old ways were trying to creep back in but the new ways of not getting bogged down with the details overcame and I felt good about doing this assignment. I feel empowered to create a great story structure as we move forward in this process.

* Concept:
* A Black man passing as White in a small Southern town secretly run by a White supremacist who plays a cat and mouse game which will expose his true identity. When he discovers she is hiding her own Black heritage, exposing her secret risks exposing his own.

* Main Conflict:
Protagonist, a Black man passing as White must expose the Black heritage of the Antagonist who is a White Supremacist without exposing his true identity.

* Old Ways:
* Self-doubt
* Evasive
* Not identifying as a Black man
* Self-loathing
* Shame
* Feeling Guilty

* New Ways:
* Unafraid
* Embracing his Blackness
* Exposing the heritage of a White Supremacist
* Believing he is worthy and able to accomplish anything he puts his mind to.
* Forgiving himself
* Courageous

Act 1:
* Opening: Black Accountant enjoys family life with his wife and son. On the birthday of his son (7 yrs) he mixes cocaine and alcohol and gets into a car accident. Wife dies and son is in a coma. He loses his job; is shamed by his father; leaves NY and arrives in a small Southern town. Homeless, he passes as White and is taken in by a Good Samaritan.

* Inciting Incident: Protagonist helps around the Antagonist house, hears cries in the night and when he investigates, discovers a pit where someone is being tossed into by people in White hoods and robs. He thinks he hears the voice of the Antagonist, he makes noise and gets away in time not to be found.

* Turning Point: The Antagonist probes him about his family and gets closer to exposing his true identity .as a Black man. He witnesses the death of a Black man at the hand of the Antagonist

Act 2:
* New plan: Protagonist must find a way to expose to the outside world that the Antagonist is on a killing spree but every attempt fails and little by little the Antagonist gets closer and closer to exposing his real identity.

* Plan in action:While working in the attic, the Protagonist discovers the birth certificate of the Antagonist: Her mother is Black.

* Midpoint Turning Point: The Protagonist falls through the floor of the attic and looses an eye; when he realizes his eye was removed as a means of making him be loyal to the Antagonist; he tells the Antagonist he knows she is a Black woman.

Act 3:
* Rethink everything: After losing his eye, the Protagonist finds the courage to confront the Antagonist about her true heritage, which is a surprise to her!

* New plan: Now tables are turned and the Protagonist has the upper hand over the Antagonist.

* Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift: The Protagonist is kidnapped and tortured by followers of the White Supremacist Antagonist. He confronts them with the fact of the Antagonist’s birth heritage.

Act 4:
* Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: The Protagonist returns to The Devil’s PunchBowl, the pit he first heard the cries of someone at the start of the movie. He sets out to save those who are buried alive and is confronted by the Antagonist. A fight ensues and he is victorious.

* Resolution: The Protagonist returns to NYC; reconciles with his father; has regain his self-esteem, love of self and courage; his son is out of the coma and he embraces his blackness; brings his son’s favorite Action Figure: the Black Panther.

Chatpbt:Was not sure if this is what we are suppose to submit as well; but just in case.

Old Ways:
Act 1 – Opening / Inciting Incident / Turning Point

Opening: Marcus Evans, a Black man passing as White, is taken in by Evelyn, a well-intentioned-seeming woman in a small Southern town. Marcus is still steeped in self-loathing, guilt, and shame after the tragic death of his wife and the resulting downward spiral of his life. He has long since buried his Blackness as a means of survival.

Inciting Incident: Marcus uncovers strange hints about Evelyn’s involvement with a white supremacist group, discovering her connections to violence against Black people in the area. He realizes that his own racial identity could put him at risk.

Turning Point: After finding irrefutable proof of Evelyn’s sinister agenda, Marcus faces a decision: continue hiding or confront the growing danger. Despite knowing the stakes, he clings to his old ways of avoidance and self-doubt.

Act 2 – New Plan / Plan in Action / Midpoint Turning Point

New Plan: Marcus chooses to play along, pretending to be unaware of Evelyn’s true nature while seeking more information. He is still evasive, trying to protect himself without directly confronting either Evelyn or his own identity. He believes that staying in the shadows is his best chance at survival.

Plan in Action: As Marcus becomes more involved with Evelyn’s inner circle, he witnesses the group’s horrifying plans. His guilt over passing as White deepens as he watches them plan attacks on Black residents, but he’s still too afraid to act.

Midpoint Turning Point: The game changes when Marcus discovers Evelyn’s secret: she herself is of Black heritage. She’s spent her life passing as White, just as Marcus has, but has chosen to lead a white supremacist group to maintain her power. This revelation shakes Marcus to his core. He now understands the deeper game at play, but the fear of exposing himself still holds him back.

Act 3 – Rethink Everything / New Plan / Turning Point: Huge Failure / Major Shift

Rethink Everything: Evelyn’s hidden Blackness forces Marcus to confront his own shame and fear. He realizes that hiding has only perpetuated his pain and suffering. The fact that Evelyn can wield such power while concealing her heritage sparks both anger and reflection within him—he begins to question why he’s allowed his own heritage to be a source of weakness rather than strength.

New Plan: Marcus decides to expose Evelyn’s true heritage, believing that revealing her hypocrisy will bring her down and stop the group’s violent plans. He is no longer just trying to save himself—he wants to strike at the heart of the system that is oppressing him and others like him.

Turning Point (Huge Failure / Major Shift): His plan to expose Evelyn’s heritage backfires when she discovers his attempt and turns her full attention on him. She uses her influence to discredit him, pushing him to the brink. Marcus is captured and now faces death, fully exposed as both a fraud and a Black man passing in a world that won’t accept him. This is his lowest point—his worst fear realized.

New Ways:
Act 4 – Climax / Ultimate Expression of the Conflict / Resolution

Climax (Ultimate Expression of the Conflict): With nothing left to lose, Marcus fully embraces his Blackness. No longer afraid or ashamed, he uses his knowledge of Evelyn’s heritage to force her hand in a final confrontation. His newfound courage and belief in his own worth allow him to turn the tables. He exposes her hypocrisy in front of her followers, revealing that the very leader they look up to is of the race they claim to hate. The clash becomes both a literal and symbolic battle of identity.

Resolution: Marcus’s courage in exposing both himself and Evelyn dismantles the group from within. He has forgiven himself for his past mistakes, released the guilt he’s carried for so long, and now fully embraces who he is. Free from fear, Marcus emerges victorious, knowing he is worthy and capable of achieving anything he puts his mind to. He leaves the town not as a man hiding from his past but as someone who has reclaimed his identity and his power.

In this 4-act structure, Marcus’s journey from self-doubt and evasion to courage and self-acceptance mirrors the external conflict with Evelyn. The transformation he undergoes—marked by embracing his Blackness, believing in his own worth, and exposing the hidden truth—aligns perfectly with the psychological thriller's tension, offering a deeply personal and emotionally charged conclusion.

• This reply was modified 6 months, 3 weeks ago by  Demethress Davis.

[David Mailman]

Mailman’s 4 Act Transformational Structure.

Concept: Two children, one a Black slave and the other the White plantation owner's son, are raised together until the Civil War separates them. Decades later, the now successful Black businessman reunites with the White son, but their past rekindles a deadly rivalry.

PROTAGONIST: Plato, a slave bought as a child to be the companion and protector of the Greenvale Plantation owners’ young son, Leon, is freed after the Civil War. He returns to Greenvale decades later to resolve secret issues between them.

ANTAGONIST: Leon, now owner of the failing Greenvale plantation, resents Plato’s success but needs him to save the plantation. That resentment of Plato drives Leon insane.

TRIANGLE CHARACTER: Sybelle , a voodoo priestess, is raped by Leon and Plato, after they have sex with each other, to reaffirm their feelings of manhood.

Main Conflict: Plato returns to Greenvale to help Leon. Both feel guilty over Sybele’s rape and their sexual affair leading to hatred. Sybele uses drugs to disturb their minds putting them and their loved ones at risk.

Old Ways: Life on the plantation may be settled, although miserable for many, if people know their places. Behavior is kept by custom and force. Conflicts arise when roles overlap.
Plato is a powerless slave and is swept along by forces out of his control. However, he has special privileges that make him feel superior to the average slave.
Plato, Leon, and Sybelle are content until they engage in forbidden conduct.

New Ways: After The Civil War, roles became ill-defined, and traditions are maintained by intimidation.
Plato is a successful business man with control over his life except for tormenting
feelings of guilt from his past.
Resentments, long suppressed, flare when Plato, Leon, and Sybelle reunite many years later, with new attitudes that create violence.

External Journey: Plato changes from frightened slave to successful businessman.
Internal Journey: Plato changes from insecure to assured and motivated activist.
Act 1:
• Opening:
• Plato, a mixed race five-year-old, is bought to be the companion of Leon, the four-year-old son of the owner of Greenvale plantation.
• Leon and Plato are raised and play together. The mistreatment of slaves does not fully register with Plato.
• Plato sits in with Leon at his tutoring. Plato leans the lessons, but Leon does not.
• The close relationship and conflicted roles of Plato and Leon begin to blur.
• Plato rescues Leon from an alligator while swimming. They have sex after Plato comforts a frightened Leon.
• Inciting Incident:
• They are agitated and rape a voodoo priestess, Sybelle, to feel like men.
• Alt. Leon’s sister seduces Plato.
• Alt. He is castrated.
• Turning Point
• The Union Army frees Plato and removes him.
• Alt. Union soldiers come to remove slaves. Plato wants to stay. Leon flogs him and throws him off the plantation.

Act 2:
• New plan:
• Plato arrives in DC and gets a newspaper job, eventually becoming a publisher
• Plato becomes an activist against Jim Crow.
• Plato must choose losing his business or giving in to the White power establishment.
• Leon has trouble holding on to the plantation. He starts drinking.
• Sybelle drugs Leon’s sister who has sex with a troop of soldiers.
• Alt. Leon kills her.
• Alt. Leon locks her away.
• Alt. She runs off with the soldiers.
• Plan in action
• Plato loses his business. Realizes he still has no power.
• Leon begs Plato to return.
• Midpoint Turning Point
• Goes back to Greenvale with wife and her child.
Act 3:
• Rethink everything:
• Plato finds past experiences make Greenvale worse than when he was last there.
• Leon has deteriorated mentally and is paranoid. He’s drinking and reminiscing about the good old days of slavery.
• Unknown to Plato or Leon, Sybelle has placed her daughter (Leon’s or Plato’s) at Greenvale as her accomplice.
• New plan:
• Leon’s insanity causes him to think that:
• Alt. Plato is the sire of Leon’s wife pregnancy. Leon imprisons her and threatens to kill the child.
• Alt. Plato is stealing the plantation.
• Alt. Ghosts of slaves drive Leon crazy.
• Sybelle tells Leon to release his wife or his son from another marriage dies horribly. He doesn’t and the son dies.
• Plato becomes delusional.
• Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift:
• Leon tries to kill Plato when he tries to rescue his/Leon’s wife.
• Sybelle rescues Plato and takes him to her cabin. She drugs him.
Act 4:
• Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict:
• Sybelle puts her daughter, and Leon’s wife on a train to the North.
• Resolution:
• Sybelle turns Plato into a powerless zombie to serve Leon forever.
• Sybelle drugs Leon and tattoos his face black. He lives at Greenvale for the rest of his life with only Plato as his servant.

• This reply was modified 5 months, 3 weeks ago by  David Mailman.

[Matthew Frendo]

Matt's 4-Act Transformational Structure

What I learned in this class is how to structure a transformational journey that will hook the audience. I also learned how old ways and new ways help with this.

Concept: An aspiring social media enthusiast joins a prestigious influencer academy only to discover it’s a twisted cult, draining followers’ personalities.
Main conflict: Eve vs. the Influencer academy
Old ways: innocent, a fangirl, compassionate, full of human faults
New ways: blank, uncaring, 'on top of the world,' "perfect in every way'

Act 1:
• Opening – Protag is at event watching favorite influencer and wanting to be her, with a bunch of others. No real friends, she’s there alone.
• Inciting Incident – she randomly goes viral and gets offer to academy
• Turning Point – she arrives at academy (that’s on an island) and they take away phone, email and any way to connect with the outside world, for their security and to keep their influencer-making secrets safe. Her fav influencers are all weird and blank.
Act 2:
• New plan – tries to figure out why old influencers seem so weird and why she’s blanking out during her ‘classes.’
• Plan in action – follows her fav influencer, going where she isn’t supposed to.
• Midpoint Turning Point – she finds out how influencers go blank and give up their personality / soul for fame after seeing what happened to her role model, who is slowly going crazy behind closed doors. But she still doesn’t know why.
Act 3:
• Rethink everything – pretends to be sick to get some time alone. Confides in new friends, who agree to help her
• New plan – steal a boat, get to outside world and tell everyone the truth
• Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift – she can’t get out once she gets boat (maybe boat won’t go past a certain point without exploding) and she’s on her own, hiding out on island, injured
Act 4:
• Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict – she tries to destroy it all (explosion, maybe?), and is about to make it off with friends when they turn on her, blank now themselves. She finds out the reason why (or maybe not).
• Resolution – ends up a drained automaton, with no personality or soul

• This reply was modified 5 months, 2 weeks ago by  Matthew Frendo.