A while ago, a follower read my article "Variations on Story Structure: A List," and asked me to elaborate on how The Hunger Games (book) doesn't follow the typical beat percentages, and they wondered if I could maybe go over how to pull that off. I wasn't sure when/if I'd get to it, but . . . here we are!
Now, because I know we have a lot of new followers, I want to make sure we are all starting with the same foundation, first. (If you've been following me for a while though and don't want the review, feel free to skip to the section after this next one.)
Typical Story Structure
Most stories follow 3-act structure, with the middle of the story taking up about 50% of the book. Because the middle is so long, most people will split it into two. So, typical stories look like this:
This typically breaks the story down into quarters (more or less). Each section takes up about 25% of the story.
Yes, some writers hate percentages, but percentages are the quickest, easiest way to communicate when something usually happens in a book, so, we'll use them.
Like pretty much anything in writing, though, the percentages are just guidelines. It's what usually works for most audiences. It's what the audience is used to seeing.
The four peaks are plot turns--they turn the direction of the story. A year or so ago, I realized that this also means they shift the protagonist's goal, or their plan to get the goal in some way (for an explanation of that go here.) When a plot turn happens, the goal or plan has changed (at least somewhat).
These plot turns are also called turning points or plot points, and depending on what approach you use, you may know them by other, more specific, names.
In 7 Point Story Structure, they are Plot Point 1, Midpoint, Plot Point 2, and Climax (or "Resolution" (or part of Resolution, anyway)).
In Save the Cat!, they are Break into Two, Midpoint, All is Lost, and Finale (or part of it).
In the Hero's Journey, they are Crossing the Threshold, unstated, The Ordeal, and Resurrection.
(But if you aren't familiar with any of those names, that's okay too.)
Whether or not you are aware of it, most of the stories you consume follow this basic structure.
To take it a step further, there are usually medium turns in between each of these major peaks (which I didn't draw in that image). These are frequently what people refer to as Pinch Point 1 and Pinch Point 2 (and the inciting incident for Act I, depending on how you view it). Act III's doesn't have one common name, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist--it's usually the turn that takes us into the climax.
This means that most stories have a turn every ~12% of the story--a big turn every quarter, and a medium turn in between those.
You can learn more about all that in "The 12% Rule of Story Structure."
But of course, while this is by far the most common way to structure a great story, it isn't the only way to structure a story.
3 Equal-sized Acts: The Hunger Games
In The Hunger Games series, Suzanne Collins instead works with three equal-sized acts. The beginning, middle, and end all take up about 33% of the book.
So it looks more like this.
And when I was learning structure, this really confused me.
I could not figure out what she was doing structurally, because it didn't seem to fit what I was learning. And yet, the story was a huge success.
On the surface though, it's actually a little obvious, because Collins literally separates each book into three parts. I was mainly confused because I didn't know you could write with three equal-sized acts and make it work.
To add to my confusion, the film adaptation of the first book, took the same plot, but restructured it to fit what's typical. And it worked well for the movie.
But let's talk about the book first.
Pretty much whenever you encounter a successful variation, the story has the same pieces, but rearranged.
This is true for The Hunger Games.
The same pieces are there.
They just show up differently.
Remember, at the basic level, an act looks like this:
Because The Hunger Games has three equal-sized acts (more or less), its structure looks more like this.
But because the middle still has a strong midpoint, we could actually view it like this.
Because Act I, Act II, and Act III are the same size, Act II gets smooshed like an accordion (in comparison to what is typical).
But don't take my word for it, let's start breaking this down.
The first thing I want to address is Katniss's goal. In The Hunger Games Katniss's goal stays essentially the same throughout the book: survive the Hunger Games.
This means that what changes are her plans, or perhaps we may say, the route she is currently taking to get that goal. The route is going to somehow shift with each act.
Let's look at those acts and see how everything plays out.
Act I (~1-33%)
In Act I, Collins uses the inciting incident as the hook to the whole story: Prim's name getting called at the reaping. Katniss volunteers and her goal to survive the Hunger Games solidifies. In Act I, her current plan or "route" is to prepare for the Games. This makes up the rising action.
The crowning moment of preparation is when Caesar Flickerman interviews Katniss and Peeta. This is the last moment to "prepare." It clearly ends that phase. It is Katniss's last chance to make an impression before going into the arena.
Based on the actual act break in the book, Suzanne Collins views this as Plot Point 1, essentially (that first peak of the story).
However, I want to point out that the start of the next chapter is the Cornucopia bloodbath, which kicks off the Games. This kicks off Katniss's new focus, which is basic survival in the arena.
I personally think you could argue that the bloodbath is perhaps part of Plot Point 1. It's a key moment that certainly turns the story in a big way.
. . . And . . . I was originally going to avoid bringing this up, but since we are here. . . . Sometimes these act-turns can be broken down into two parts--one major moment that ends the previous act, and another that starts the next act (sort of like Prim's name being called kicks off Act I). I'll probably do a post breaking that idea down later, but for simplicity's sake, I'll leave that topic there.
I wouldn't stress about a story having two or more major moments near an act turn; the real concern is if you don't have any or they aren't strong enough.
Act II (~33-66%)
Act II, Part I (~34-50%)
Katniss's main focus here is basic survival. Having a place to eat, finding water, staying away from the Careers. She's responding to the environment and just aiming to stay alive. Things begin to escalate with the Careers, and this takes us to the midpoint, which is when Katniss is stuck in a tree, with the Careers below, and--thanks to Rue--she cuts down the tracker jacker hive to get away. This is a tense "peak" moment that turns the story. It moves Katniss out of her basic survival phase and into an attack mode (of one sort or another).
This changes her plans from getting by, to targeting the Careers.
Act II, Part II (~50-66%)
The new plan is to work with Rue to destroy the Careers' supplies. This takes us up the rising action to the next major turn, Plot Point 2, which is when, after Katniss has destroyed the supplies, the boy from District 1 kills Rue. This completes Katniss's current "phase." The supplies are gone, and her allyship with Rue has ended.
Collins again uses another turn to start, or "kick off," the next act, which is the announcement that two victors can win if they are from the same district. This shifts Katniss's plans. She wants to win, with Peeta. So she needs to find him.
(And to build on what I said above, essentially what is happening is that the death of Rue closes the act, because it ends that current plan or objective. Then, the announcement opens the next act, by giving Katniss a new plan or objective.)
Act III (~66-100%)
So Katniss wants to win, with Peeta. That's her plan for the last act. She finds him, but he's wounded and dying, so she needs to figure out how to heal him, and then they need to outlive the other tributes. As she tries to do all that, it takes us up the rising action.
At the climax, they face mutts and Cato, but the true, final climactic turn is the stunt with the berries. This is when Katniss and Peeta are declared victors, and the story turns into falling action.
So, the major turns are there, but the percentages are different.
And guess what? The medium turns are there too.
The Medium Turns
For simplicity's sake, I'm calling these Turn A, Turn B, Turn C, and Turn D.
But again, you may have heard these by other names. Turn B is often referred to as Pinch Point 1, and Turn C is often referred to as Pinch Point 2. Turn A is often where the inciting incident lands, but if not, there will still be a different turn there. And Turn D sometimes aligns with "The Road Back" (in the Hero's Journey) or "Break into Three" (in Save the Cat!).
But if you aren't familiar with any of those terms, no worries.
These are just more plot turns--they are smaller than the acts' peaks but not tiny. Medium-sized. These turns are often used to escalate the remaining act toward its peak. Meaning, things usually get more intense after these moments. These are key moments. They typically show up about halfway through their acts (in "regular" 3-act structure: ~12%, ~37%, ~62%, ~87%).
These likewise show up about halfway through Collins's acts.
Turn A (~16%)
Because Collins used the actual inciting incident as the hook for the book, this means a different key turn happens halfway through Act I.
Turn A is when the tributes arrive at the Capitol and are paraded about in their chariots.
This is a medium turn in the sense that Katniss is now officially entering the Capitol and preparing. Sure, she thought and talked about preparing on the train, but now she's actually trying to win sponsors by making an impression and then practicing in the training center.
It's certainly a shift that happens halfway through.
Turn B (~42%)
This turn works as a classic pinch point. Katniss is trying to sleep in a tree, and the Careers kill a tribute nearby; Katniss hears Peeta with them and that they want to target her. This escalates Act II, Part I and gets us on track to hit the midpoint. It's also worth mentioning that right in the next chapter, Katniss gets caught in a fire and burned. You could argue one or the other is the true Turn B, but I would worry less about which it is, and focus more on the fact there is at least one turn there.
The turn with the Careers and Peeta is a bigger psychological blow for Katniss, but the fire is a bigger physical blow. Both put her on the path of the tracker jacker moment. They also alter her direction just a bit--now she really needs to make sure to stay away from the Careers and to head the opposite direction she was going, away from the flames and toward water.
Turn C (~58%)
At Turn C, Katniss finds the Careers' supplies and blows them up. This is a key turn in that she is now completing Rue's and her plan, which shifts it. But, in order to fully complete what she aimed to do, she needs to reunite with Rue. This moment also takes us directly into Plot Point 2, where Rue gets killed. Turn C propels us toward that moment.
Turn D (~82% ~77%)
This is where things get a little "off" with the percentages, but always remember the percentages are just guidelines. I feel like Turn D in particular, tends to float around, and I think this is because the climactic moment will hit at different percentages depending on how long the falling action is. If there is a lot of falling action, then obviously the climax will hit an earlier percentage. If there is only a little, it will be a later percentage. But it pretty much never hits at 100% because that would be the last page of the book.
And really, all the major peaks can shift around a little bit like this. If you have a big "valley" then the percentages are likely going to be a little different. If your plot point is made up of two parts--one that closes the previous act and another that opens the next--the percentages are also likely going to be a little different.
The climax of The Hunger Games hits at ~93%. I feel that Turn D hits at ~77%.
To me, this is the feast. Other than the climax itself, this is the biggest turn of Act III. Before the feast, Peeta is slowly dying and Katniss can only do so much to help him. At the feast, she gets medicine for him. This gets her on track to win with Peeta like she wants.
In some ways, this is an atypical Turn D (and some may argue that Turn D is even something different), but when stripped down to the "bones" it does what it is supposed to do. It turns the act in a medium-sized way.
Peeta was on track to die, which would end Katniss's plans to win with him.
And now, Peeta is on track to live, which helps Katniss's plans to win with him.
The feast is also the most dangerous moment before the climax, which will have the duo facing Cato and then pulling the berry stunt. At the feast, Katniss has to face other tributes and nearly gets killed.
Even though it hits early, to me the feast is clearly Turn D.
Book vs. Film
So that's the basic structure "skeleton" of The Hunger Games book.
When the film came out, the story was adapted (read: restructured) to fit what was typical.
A new opening with Seneca was used to create a hook.
The inciting incident of Prim's name being called was turned into Turn A at ~12%.
Then the arrival at the Capitol with the parade was turned into Plot Point 1 at ~25%.
At Turn B, Katniss gets her training score; the film also added a classic pinch point: a scene where Snow warns Seneca about Katniss. These happen near 37%.
The interview and bloodbath became the midpoint at ~50%
Katniss being chased up a tree and then cutting the hive became Turn C at ~67%
Destroying the Careers' supplies and Rue dying were rolled together into Plot Point 2 at ~75%
The feast is kept as Turn D and hits at ~87%.
And Cato and the berries still work as the climax, now at 96%.
So the falling action is shorter.
This:
Into this:
Keep in Mind
So, some important things to remember . . .
The percentages are guidelines, not laws. Often more important than the percentages are the turns. There should be plot turns happening on a regular basis--a big one for each act and a medium one in between. With that said, the percentages are still important, and there are reasons they work the way they do. Imagine a story that hit the climax at the 60% mark. This would mean the remaining 40% is falling action. This would bother any reader.
It's also worth mentioning that most scenes should have a small turn. All these turns and structural units should work together to progress and escalate the overall story, to create the rising action.
Each act should follow this structural shape.
Which means it is, more or less, rising up to its peak moment.
And while structuring a story by quarters is most common, it's not the only way to successfully structure a story.
It's possible to structure a story with three equal-sized acts.
It's also possible to structure a story with two acts.
These are harder to pull off, in part because the audience has been conditioned to hit a significant turn every ~12% or so of the story.
But if a story works with different percentages and different acts and it's still satisfying, then, well, it works.
I just wouldn't say it is the standard.
And since it's not, it's always riskier to try. (Plus, there are fewer resources out there to help you learn how to successfully do it.)
Perhaps in the future, we will look at another atypical structure.
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