As I work on my sequel to Something About AI, I am focusing on a more structured approach to my writing. I wrote more than 35,000 words on this sequel last November during the last NaNoWriMo event. As I finished book1, I let book2 sit on the back burner and cook for awhile. Writing with NaNo helped me break the analysis paralysis I’d get into when writing before NaNo but it also changed me into a pantser; I write by the seat of my pants. And, don’t get me wrong, I love that. I love the way the characters led me by the fingertips to places unexpected. But for this sequel I need to be more of a planner. I need a strong ending that book1 didn’t have. I don’t want to write a book3 so I have to finish strong.
Decades ago I learned about the Hero’s Journey and the The Three-Act Structure and other ways to construct a story but now I’m revisiting it with pure intention to utilize it. I got myself a worksheet and have been taking those 35,000 words and 20something chapters and assessing how they fit, specifically into the 3 Acts format.
I asked Chrome Gemini to create a 3 Act Structure graphic for me. Here is what I got:
In the story tension graph the blue line represents the Hero’s Journey. The orange represents the force of the antagonist. The challenges and pressures it places on the hero (protagonist).
As before mentioned, one of the most important things for me to focus on this time around is the ending. I’ve spent (and not done yet) many hours contemplating how my story will end. Once I know then I can push my characters that way rather than them pushing me. When they push me, they never want to end. They want to live forever. And when I like them as much as I always do, I don’t want them to end, either. It’s a fascinating dynamic. But this time I have to be the one in charge. Not them. The ending I’m contemplating has two main elements that I have to sort out. The first is the climax. The second is the denouement. How will I tie up any loose ends.
As an aside, when i think about denouements the one I always remember is the Lord of the Rings. I’ll never forget how surprised I was when I read that last book and there was soooo much content after the defeat of Sauron. I kinda didn’t even want to read it (I was young). But these days I think about how important it was to know that Frodo didn’t just return to the shire and live happily ever after. It’s something to consider. People love happy endings. Do I owe one? Something I’d think more about if I had any Constant Readers. ha!
As I’ve been going through these two efforts in parallel I’ve made some dramatic cuts. Today I moved out of play more than 15,000 words, about 9 chapters. I use Scrivener so I created a new folder after Research and called it Old Stuff. I may want to pull pieces back in but for now they’re out. Scrivener also has this overview feature … it’s like having every chapter summarized on 3×5 cards and being able to see key info about each chapter at a glance. Here is what it looks like with the first fifteen chapter cards (before all my rework):
Although it is important for me to understand The Three-Act Structure and the percentages (Act 1 = 25%, Act 2= 50%, Act 3 = 25%) that doesn’t mean those are inflexible. For me they are guideposts. Very helpful guideposts.
Going through all this makes me wish I had an editor, a mentor, someone who I could talk to about the manuscript and get their thoughts on hooks, inciting incidents, pinch points. I has been hard for me to see those things clearly. I could try using an AI Assistant but they are so obsequious. Maybe I should try Grok. bahahahahahahaha
10/31/2025 Update:
As my search for knowledge continues I watched the video below last night. I hope you can laugh at me the same way I laughed at myself when I saw his #9 (worst) story structure and sat bolt upright in my seat.
In all fairness, the structure I’m using is more like the Save The Cat structure (read that book last year). But I also weave in some character arc structure from The Hero’s Journey. Anyway, just had to update this post with this newest development for me in my autodidactic journey.