The oldest storytelling map: setup, confrontation, resolution — roughly 25/50/25.
Three-act structure divides a story into setup (meet the world, disturb it), confrontation (pursue the goal against escalating opposition), and resolution (the decisive fight and its aftermath) — in a feature, roughly pages 1–25, 25–90, and 90–110.
Nearly every named framework — Save the Cat!, the Hero's Journey, the Story Circle — is a refinement of it, adding named landmarks inside the same three movements. Learn it first; the others will feel like dialects.
Go deeper: Three-Act Structure — beat sheet
