Any medium · 7 beats
Best for: prestige drama and serious feature screenplays. Robert McKee's classical structure from his book Story. Built around the obligatory Crisis scene and the principle that every story is a series of progressive complications driving the protagonist to an unavoidable choice.
Percentages show roughly where each beat lands in the finished story — the midpoint of a 110-page screenplay is page 55.
The event that radically upsets the protagonist's life and forces the protagonist to act. The story does not actually begin until this happens. Everything before is exposition.
A turning point that flips the protagonist's circumstance from positive to negative (or the reverse). The first real change in the value at stake. Often ends Act One.
A cascade of obstacles that progressively narrow the protagonist's options. Each complication makes the previous solutions impossible. The protagonist's gap between expectation and result widens.
A deeper turning point, often a betrayal, a revelation, or a loss. The value at stake flips again, more steeply. Forces the protagonist toward the inevitable Crisis.
The moment of ultimate decision. The protagonist faces a choice between two irreconcilable desires or two evils. There is no compromise possible. McKee considers this the heart of the story.
The action that follows the Crisis decision. The protagonist's choice plays out in the most dramatic, expressive scene of the story. The story's central value is settled.
A brief return to normalcy. The new world is shown. Loose ends are tied; the protagonist's transformation is made visible. Length is proportional to story scale.
McKee's Quest Structure is built into One More Draft — pick it in the story wizard and every beat above becomes a slot in your outline, with Quill, your story editor, coaching each one. Free to start.
Start a story with McKee's Quest Structure
