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Freytag's Pyramid template

Freytag's Pyramid is a five-act shape: exposition, rising action, a climax at the top, falling action, and a resolution. Unlike three-act structure, the turn sits in the middle and the second half is spent on its consequences, which is why it suits tragedy.

A story route climbs to a central turning point, then descends through its consequences.

When to use it

  • Your story turns in the middle and the second half pays for it.
  • You are writing a tragedy, or a downfall, or a rise and fall.
  • You are studying a five-act play and want its shape in front of you.

The German novelist Gustav Freytag drew the pyramid in 1863, from Greek tragedy and Shakespeare.

The 5 acts

  • Act One: Exposition. Who, where, and the tension already present before anything moves.
  • Act Two: Rising Action. Each attempt adds a difficulty, and the tension climbs.
  • Act Three: Climax. The peak, where the hero’s fortunes turn.
  • Act Four: Falling Action. The consequences of the turn, working themselves out.
  • Act Five: Resolution. The outcome: ruin in a tragedy, a new order in anything else.

The 9 beats at 80,000 words

The marks assume 80,000 words, because a full-length novel; for a play, use the same proportions. Each beat keeps its percentage at any length, so scale the marks to your own. The story structure calculator works them out for any length.

  1. The Situation 5% · word 4,000 The people, the place, and the pressure already in it.
  2. The Spark 16% · word 13,000 The event that sets the conflict moving and cannot be taken back.
  3. Complication 26% · word 21,000 The first attempt to deal with it, and the new difficulty it causes.
  4. Stakes Raised 36% · word 29,000 The stakes rise and the options narrow. Turning back is no longer possible.
  5. The Turn 50% · word 40,000 The top of the pyramid. The hero’s fortunes reverse, for better or worse.
  6. Consequences 64% · word 51,000 The first consequences of the turn arrive, and the other side answers.
  7. A Last Hope 76% · word 61,000 A moment where the outcome seems in doubt again, just before it is settled.
  8. The Outcome 88% · word 70,500 The outcome the whole shape has been falling toward.
  9. The New Order 98% · word 78,500 The world after, and what it has learned or lost.

A worked example

The eldest son of a vineyard family mortgages the land to buy his neighbor's, and loses both.

  1. The Situation. Three harvests of good wine and a father who will not expand.
  2. The Spark. The father dies, and Tomas inherits the land and the debt nobody knew about.
  3. Complication. He borrows against the vines to pay it, and buys the neighbor's hillside while he is at it.
  4. Stakes Raised. His brother warns him, and Tomas sends him away.
  5. The Turn. The best harvest in a century, and the price of wine falls by half.
  6. Consequences. The bank calls the loan, and the neighbor wants his hillside back.
  7. A Last Hope. A buyer from the city offers to take the whole crop.
  8. The Outcome. The buyer's check bounces, and the bank takes the vineyard.
  9. The New Order. His brother buys back one row of vines, and Tomas works it for wages.

Open this template in Tabularia

Tabularia opens a new Book on the Freytag's Pyramid shape: its acts and a chapter for each beat, named for it, with each note pinned beside the chapter it belongs to. The book's word goal is set to 80,000 words. You name the Book before anything is created.

Open in Tabularia

Or take it away

The Word file has every beat with its note and mark, a line under each for your own plan, and the example above. It opens in Word, Google Docs, Pages, and LibreOffice.

Download for Word