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Michael Hauge's Six Stage Plot Structure for a Character's Internal Journey

PROJECT TITLE

AVIAF

LOGLINE

Basic logline goes here (A researcher exposes lies of the Catholic Church)

WORD COUNT (update this and the rest will auto-calculate)

110,000

PAGE COUNT (the math here assumes Times New Roman--change the formula below from 275 to 250 for Courier New)

400

# ACTS & STAGES DESCRIPTION PAGE (approx.) WORD COUNT CHAPTER

Introduce protagonist(s) and create empathy. They start out fully in their Identity, but
1 Act I 1 100 1 27500
throughout this Act, they'll face an opportunity and reader will glimpse their Essence.

She's the kind of person who works hard for her family. She toils like selling food in the street,
sometimes she steals, etc. to be able to give back to her parents. There's this one teacher in their
village who approached her that she can't have high grades on her cards even though this
teacher believes that she's on the top of the class because her grades will be questioned. Avianne
said she understands. Avianne is the one who helps in the household of this teacher after school
so that Avianne may be able to eat, especially the food she needs for her magical body system to
work.

1.a Stage 1: Setup Introduce protagonist(s) and create empathy. Show them living in or stuck in their Identity. 1 40 1 11000

Avianne wants to feel loved. And feel significant. She's not treated well by her grandmother. She's
not having much friends at school because she's always being bullied. She's good at making
magic performances so she always wears a mask when entering some local or village-based
competitions. Because she's afraid that once she's known for who she is, she will be set aside and
be treated for what race she belongs to, not what she can do.

Avianne always visits the forest to tend to the phoenix that's being actually hunted by the
Imperial Forces. She doesn't know how important this phoenix is because it is actually a fire
magician.

Turning Point 1: An event occurs that creates desire in the protagonist. Reader gets a glimpse of their longing
1.b 40 11000
Opportunity or need.
Stage 2: New Character attempts to adjust to their longing or need, revealing piece of their Essence in the
1.c 40 100 11000 27500
Situation process.
Turning Point 2: An event creates a new desire with a specific goal that has a visible end point. Goal has to be
1.d 100 27500
Change of Plans something the character can't fully achieve in their Identity.

2 Act II The character wavers between their Identity and their Essence. 101 300 27501 82500

2.a Stage 3: Progress Character attempts to make progress to their new goal, but gets scared and retreats. 101 200 27501 55000

Turning Point 3: Character must do something to show they're fully pursuing their new goal, and they get a
2.b 200 55000
Point of No Return glimpse of what their life would be like if they lived in their Essence.
Stage 4:
2.c Complications & Character moves more steadily into their Essence. 200 300 55000 82500
Higher Stakes
Turning Point 4:
2.d An "all is lost" event causes character to retreat or happens due to a retreat. 300 82500
Major Setback

3 Act III Character fully returns to their Essence, faces the climax, and lives their life transformed. 301 400 82501 110000

Character must rebound from their retreat and return to their Essence, thus "earning" their
3.a Stage 5: Final Push 301 360 82501 99000
success.
Turning Point 5:
3.b Final turning point of the story brings together all internal and external conflict. 360 396 99000 108900
Climax

3.c Stage 6: Aftermath Show a glimpse of the character's new life. 360 400 99000 110000

Refer to the following blog posts for more information:

Michael Hauge's Workshop: An Antidote to "Love at First Sight" on Jami Gold's blog:
http://jamigold.com/2012/08/michael-hauges-workshop-an-antidote-to-love-at-first-sight/
Michael Hauge's Workshop: Are These Characters the Perfect Match on Jami Gold's blog:
http://jamigold.com/2012/08/michael-hauges-workshop-are-these-characters-the-perfect-match/
The Inner Struggle: Guides for Using Inner Conflict That Make Sense on Janice Hardy's blog
http://blog.janicehardy.com/2012/08/the-inner-struggle-guides-for-using.html
Michael Hauge's Workshop: Making Emotional Journeys and External Plots Play Together on Jami Gold's blog
For more helpful writing information, check out http://jamigold.com/for-writers/
Last updated on 04/12/2019