StoryBoard is a simple application that allows you to visualize a plot using movable cards. This is a technique commonly used when scripting a 3 Act Movie screenplay, but is also very useful when plotting out a novel or story that follows Similar conventions of a Three-Act (also known as a “well-made play”) screenplay.
In this format, the following conventions are assumed:
Act 1 - Thesis: This act sets up the characters and mood of the story, and illustrates the big goal or conflict that drives the story. Act 1 GeneRally ends at a point where a significant event occurs that indicates that there are going to be hurdles to overcome ahead in solving the conflict or achieving the goal. For a character-driven story, Act 1 is the character’s life as it is before the journey.
Act 2 - Antithesis: This is the longest of the three acts, and consists of the several attempts to achieve the goal or resolve the problem. Each attempt fails, and each failure is more significant than the last. This leads up the final conflict at the end of Act 2 that leaves the protagonist at rock bottom where they finally “see the light” and understand the problem and come up with a plan to solve it. This is the character’s world Upside Down, where they learn that their prior ways of solving problems or achieving goals do not work, and learn a new way to do it.
Act 3 - Synthesis: This is where the conflict is resolved, the goal achieved, and the overall message of the story is revealed. The protagonist, in learning how to overcome the problem, has learned something about themselves and have grown. The final image in Act 3 sets the premise of who life will be afterward.
As always, this is freeware. All I ask is you drop me a line if you find this app useful!
