by Gay Degani

I do a lot of writing about structure and how it can help a writer shape a piece of writing.  I’m not saying that every work of prose or drama will end up with a strictly defined adherence to  Aristotle’s Poetics, however, I believe that being aware of the principles of the three-act structure will benefit most writers trying to sort through and refine any piece of writing.

But I don’t even want to talk about that, really.  I want to explain how that knowledge of basic structure helps me get through my own petty daily struggles because it does.  Especially, the dark moment.

Let me recap.  The three-act structure en simplistica.

  • Act 1
    • Introduce characters and setting
    • Create internal and external story problems
    • Something large or small throws main character into a need for action
  • Act 2A
    • Main character comes up with an easy solution: takes path of least resistance
    • Realizes it won’t work: Epiphany for main character (self knowledge)
    • Struggles against obstacles, both internal and external
  • Midpoint
    • Recognizes enemies
    • Comes to a pleasant accord with main relationship
  • Act 2B
    • With help from main relationship bond and recognition of enemy, a new struggle.
    • All is failing: Dark Moment (surrender)
    • Renewed commitment to goal or to a new better goal
  • Act 3
    • Lead up to final battle
    • Final battle
    • Win or lose

Why am I bringing this up? Because life is like a movie.

On Wednesday night of this week,we lay in bed listening to the wind rattle the windows, whip and swoop down our chimney, trees scratch against the house. I worried because I’d never heard anything like it here before.  We live after all in LA-LA land where a little rain will send people squealing around every corner at top speed with their mouths a big O as they go over the curb or  herding a family of snails down the middle of the street. We debated if we should get up and lay down our patio umbrellas.

I didn’t want to do it. At first I was optimistic, exactly like the main character would be in the first part of a book, movie, and short story. Then  I remembered that, when fiction characters take the path of least resistance it ends DISASTROUS RESULTS. I made us pulled ourselves out from under the warm electric blanket and take care of the umbrellas.

Good thing we did that!  (This is like an epiphany: “my instincts were right”). And when we got up the next day, Mother Nature recomfirmed to me that taking the easy way never works.  One of the umbrellas  stands on our patio right next to a bank of windows and with the 70-80 mile an hour winds we experienced, at least one of our windows would have been broken.  We were lucky enough to have no trees knocked down, but there were sycamore, camphor, and oak branches every where and worse – NO ELECTRICITY.

So we had some obstacles to deal with.  First and most importantly, Tim and I were waiting for a new granddaughter and the telephones weren’t working, our cell phones had stopped charging, so out to the car to recharge.  The mess in the middle of the street had to be cleared.  No one else was doing it, cars going 40 swerving around the debris, so we did that.   Now we had to come up with a plan for the refrigerator and the lack of heat.  How were we going to handle our first night without lights???

So we invited friends over, lit a gazillion candles.  The house was magical, my son and daughter-in-law were ensconced in the hospital back in DC and we waited. We had come together at what I’d hoped was the midpoint.

Went to bed with no news and woke up the next day to no news.   Still no electricity at our house though the empty house next door had lights!!! Actually, almost every one had lights except for one half of our block and the block east of that.

Phones dead.  We ran out to the car to find out Tim and I have a beautiful new granddaughter!!!!!!!  Emily Joy.

I tried communicating this news via my phone and tried to catch up online with FFC and Smokelong, but  I found that finger typing on a telephone isn’t easy for me!!  Posted in the wrong place here and there, missed things, and didn’t realize we had no post for this spot for Friday. Went on obliviously, grocery shopping for candles and ice and duraflame logs.  Spent a quiet night staring into the fire thinking about what it must have been like “down on the farm” in the old days and promptly went to bed.

Now it’s Saturday and we’ve realized that we are in THE DARK MOMENT.  Outside temps at night have been 42 and inside hovering at 50. Hillary went to the Water and Power page and found out we probably won’t have electricity for another 48 hours.  We are tired of it but it’s given us an appreciation that doing without juice is nothing.  We are so lucky that we have running water, a gas stove we can light and cook on, a working fireplace and a lot of blankets.  We’re coming out of the dark moment.  Yes we are.

I’m at Starbucks and need to get moving.  It’s 5:00pm which means I have to pick up that next box of duraflames and some ice, then go home to light candles.  At least my phone and computer are fully charged.  Thank you Starbucks.

I’m ready for my close-up Mr. DeMille.