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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/28721
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I see that the 3 Act structure can be applied over almost any story, from _Hamlet_ to _Mulholland Drive_, from _The Matrix_ to _Rocky_. Story structures like 3 Acts, or 4-5 Acts, always feature a Character Arc and a series of plot turns (i.e. _Turning Points_) which make the story move on, proceeding from inciting incident, to temporary success, to climax and finale.

But I find it hard to detect these elements in movies like _Pulp Fiction_, _Shimmer Lake_, _Memento_, which proceeds back and forth in narration, and thus seem to elude the typical steps of a story. For example, how can something be an inciting incident if it's shown at the end of a movie? How can it be a climax of the hero's journey, if it is shown at the beginning?

The question is: how can you insert the Plot Key Points in a story which is not narrated linearly?

**NB please retain from answering by bashing the 3-act structure as wrong / fad / old / cliche - that is not the core of the question. Thanks.**

Original score: 4