WEBTOON Advanced Story, Let's Start Like This
GCC Academy
How to Plan a Story and the Three-act Structure
Hello
I am a comic story writer
and teach storytelling to students
at ChungKang College of Culture's Comics Content School
My name is Hyerim Yang
In the previous lecture
We covered how to find a subject
and then discussed
how to create characters
Now, it's time to start creating the story
Many people feel overwhelmed when starting a story
But surprisingly, younger people tend to be more daring
I mean, kids
Like those in the first or second grade
often have a lot of experience making
their little books
Or a story
When you ask them, "Can you make a story?"
"Oh, I've already made a few"
They might say like this
There are a lot of young kids
who see themselves as writers
However, this confidence tends to decrease as we get older
For example, let's say a first grader says
"I made a book!"
and brings over a little book
maybe just four pages
To adults, it's really impressive
But if a middle schooler sees it
"What kind of book is this?"
"What kind of story is this?"
They might say like this and kill the vibe
This could be a problem with our education system
or maybe something else
But in any case, the more experience people gain
The more they feel the need to say
This is not it
This isn't just about stories
It's also true for cooking
Saying, "This is how a proper jjajangmyeon should be,"
or "This is what a proper something should be,"
is really a scary thing
Who can define what
a "proper" something is?
Just because someone won the world jjajangmyeon competition
doesn't mean they can truly distinguish the best jjajangmyeon
It could be from the Chinese restaurant right in front of my house
that I really enjoy
and whenever I feel a bit empty inside, I think about that place
That could actually be the true jjajangmyeon
So, when it comes to storytelling, before you start this course
I hope you approach it with a bit of generosity
Many people think that following a set method
is the only way
to structure
or write a story properly
But that's not true
The most important thing is what feels comfortable for the writer
Just to be clear
Writer is lazy and doesn't do this or that
Doing nothing is the best
I'm not saying that
The process of writing and completing a story
should feel comfortable for the writer
It's really important
Because what helps the story come to an end
is the most important thing
I was just playing around and didn't finish the story
This doesn't mean like that
What I'm saying is that if a method suggested by a great writer
makes the process uncomfortable for me
Where I feel drained after each day
and dread continuing the story tomorrow
It's so burdening for me
Then that method may not be right for me
At least, it's not the right method for that person
A writer needs to feel comfortable with their work for it to flow well
and when the work flows well, the story can be completed
As I mentioned earlier, if a writer struggles
and thinks that according to a certain method, they must summarize
40 episodes of a long webtoon story every day to become an expert
It's very tiring, difficult
and often unfun work
Of course, some people might enjoy it
But for most of us, it would become a burden
If someone says, "You have to do this to become a true writer,"
some might try to stick with it
Like a bear wanting to be a human
enduring it as if it were having garlic
But many will just give up thinking
If this is what it takes
Maybe I can't be a writer
Losing direction
or losing motivation
isn't caused by an easy or a good method
The most important thing I want to say is that
Writing a story is a process
I often repeat this
This process is like a journey
A journey, after all, means the process of travel
Depending on the length of the story
This journey can be very long
There are many types of travel
There are day trips
and year-long world tours
where you invest all your savings
The nature of the journey can change a lot depending on the path
For example, if you
use the same approach
to writing a one-year trip as you would for a day trip
It’s unlikely to be successful
In this session, we’ll learn
how to plan a journey so you don’t lose your way
This method can be used for
both short and long journeys
We'll learn that method
And above all, we'll focus on
how to take that first step
You probably have a subject in mind that you selected
by considering your target audience
This subject will carry the writer's intention
and a main character will carry that subject
When you're starting to plan a story
I would suggest beginning with deciding
the starting and ending states of the main character
Now, when we talk about starting and ending
There's a common misunderstanding among aspiring writers
They often think of it in terms of the character
What do I mean by this?
Starting and ending of the character
The starting point of a character
is when the character is born
and the ending is when the character dies
Some might think like this
While such stories exist
Like when a character is born in the first episode
and dies at the end of the series with a conclusion
like "it was a good life"
But while such stories do exist
There probably aren't many webtoons you've read
that follow that kind of structure
So here, we'll approach the idea of beginning and end
as more of a framing concept
The world of the story you create will be very broad
While the story itself might be this big
The world of the story will be much larger
Within that world, the main character will live a long life
or maybe not
Some characters may have short lives
But regardless of that
You need to decide
which part of that vast world and long timeline
you want to focus on and turn into your story frame
The world is very vast
But when we take a photo
We decide with a specific intention
about which part to capture and from what angle
That photo may not capture everything in the world
But it doesn't need to
What matters is that the intention behind that photo is clear
Similarly, when determining the beginning and end of a story
just like framing a photo
there must be intention
Why are we starting the story here and ending it there?
That decision connects to the subject you've chosen
It should be in a form that best showcases
the subject of your story
When you take a photo
You often place the subject in the center to create a good shot
I'm not a photography expert
But these days, when I try to take a picture with my phone
The camera tells me
that putting an object in a certain spot will give me the best shot
Sometimes, I don't like it
But the point is to frame
the story's beginning and end in a way
that best displays the subject
So, the subject becomes the basis
for your story
For example, let's say you decide to write a story
about an asexual character
The world is filled with romance
There are many romance dramas
and if you take romance out, a significant portion of the content industry
would be gone
So, if you decide to write a story
about a protagonist who doesn't consider romance
an important part of their life
That's your intention
Your goal is to portray this kind of character clearly
And to go further, you could show that such a person exists
and that some of your audience might identify with them
This could lead to the idea that
While it may seem like everyone in the world is living for romance
That doesn't have to be the case
You can think like this
To make the subject work well
What should the main character be like?
In the beginning
The character might not even know
that they are asexual
They might not understand the concept at all
This could be their starting point
Or, they might be in a state of denial, thinking
There's no way I'm asexual
I can still fall in love
They might think like this
They might not know they are asexual
or even that the concept of asexuality exists so that they could start
in a state of ignorance
If the story starts this way
Then how would it end?
The character might come to accept that they are asexual
After going through various experiences
They might realize
I'm asexual
and I don't need to force myself to pursue romance
Between this start and end, what happened?
Simply put
The character changed
They didn't know, but then they did
They didn't accept it, but then they did
This kind of change
is the story's beginning and end
The moment they denied
being asexual
and the moment they accepted it
That's your story's frame
Let me give you another example
Let's say
there's a character who hates studying
I really hate studying!
But the ending of this story is that
This character ends up really liking studying
So, the beginning is a protagonist who hates studying
and the end is a protagonist who loves studying
In between, something meaningful must happen to bring about that change
You may not understand it fully yet
But when planning your story
You first need to
look at your character's starting
and ending points
objectively
I mentioned that there's something
in between the beginning and end
That something is change
If you're unsure where to begin with your story
I recommend asking yourself this question
How does the protagonist change?
What is the starting state of the protagonist
and what is the ending state after going through the process of change?
It may seem like I'm repeating something simple
But this is actually what is referred
to as the three-act structure in storytelling
If you're interested in storytelling
You've probably heard of the three-act structure
at least once
When people talk about it
some might think, 'Oh, that person must have learned something,'
or 'That's something really impressive'
But in reality, it's very simple
That's what I just mentioned
To explain it a bit more specifically
What are insects made of?
We learned this in elementary school
They're made up of the head, thorax, and abdomen
And plants?
They're made up of the root, stem, and leaves
When we hear this, we might want to argue
Aren't there insects
that don't have a head, thorax, and abdomen?
What about spiders?
Or what about flowers in plants?
We want to say like this
But even if those are exceptions, we generally say
insects are made of the head, thorax, and abdomen
and plants are made of the root, stem, and leaves
So, a story
is made up of a beginning, middle, and end
What does the beginning mean?
It's when there's nothing before it
and something happens after it
The middle has something before
and something after
And the end?
There's something before
but nothing after
It might sound like a boring word game
but Aristotle said this
and it's exactly stated in Chapter 7 of Poetics
He's talking about the three-act structure
Poetics is often considered
the foundation of storytelling
It was written about 2,000 years ago
and because the title is Poetics, you might expect it
to be about poetry
The original Greek title
roughly translates to 'The Art of Writing Poetry'
But after multiple translations
the Greek became English
and then it became Poetics in English
and 'Si-hak' in Korean
So, why does this book on writing poetry matter to us?
In Aristotle's time, the "poetry" he referred to
was actually epic poetry
And epic poetry was often performed
as a play
So, this is essentially
a method for creating a play
In his book Poetics
Aristotle explains that a story is made up of
a beginning, middle, and end
The whole story has a beginning, a middle, and an end
The end, the conclusion
Over time
many scholars and researchers
have added meaning to this simple idea
This isn't to discuss
why these scholars did that
But rather, most of the profound teachings from ancient times
have been given deeper meaning
by later scholars
For example, teachings from Confucius
or famous philosophers
are often expanded upon by later scholars
who try to bring out the speaker's original intent
Similarly, the three-act structure
we know today
is not necessarily what Aristotle originally said
but what later scholars added
It can be said like this
For instance, there's a researcher named Syd Field
whom we covered in another lesson
He was a scholar focused on writing plays and screenplays
In the three-act structure
he defined specific roles
for the beginning, middle, and end
Aristotle said that a story is made up of
a beginning, middle, and end
But Syd Field suggested that the beginning should serve as the role of setting
The middle should serve as the role of conflict
and the end should serve as the role of resolution
That's what he suggested
Even if you hear this briefly
What I mentioned earlier from Aristotle
The beginning is when there's nothing before and something after
and the middle is when there's something before and after
It is more specific
and helpful, don't you think?
This part will be covered in more detail later
But for now, let's return to the three-act structure
The beginning and end states you defined earlier
correspond to Act 1 and Act 3
Let's say there's a story about someone who has never been in a relationship
explores all kinds of relationships
and ultimately realizes that
what they needed wasn't romance
Can you break this down into a three-act structure?
I'll give you about 3 seconds
So pause the video and reflect for a moment
3 seconds have passed
Now, which part is Act 1?
Act 1 reveals
the character's setting
showing that they've never been in a relationship
Act 2 would cover their journey through all kinds of relationships
exploring different types of romance
Finally, in Act 3
the character realizes that romance isn't what they actually needed
All of this fits within those three acts
Act 1 is when they've never been in a relationship
Act 2 is when they explore various relationships
and Act 3 is when they realize that
romance wasn't the answer
Does the concept of Acts 1, 2, and 3 feel clearer now?
You might be thinking
This is useful for short stories
But what about the webtoon I'm writing, which will be 200 or 300 episodes long?
How can something like that be summarized in just one line?
I'm assuring that
even if it's not a 100-episode webtoon but a 1,000-episode one
It can still be summarized like that
And even the story I mentioned earlier
where a character who has never been in a relationship
explores all kinds of romance
and ultimately realizes that
romance isn't what they need
can easily be extended to over 100 episodes
Why is that?
What will take up most of episode 100?
If you think beyond just the concept of
Acts 1, 2, and 3
You might realize that
most of the story will focus on the protagonist
exploring all kinds of relationships
There will be a lot of story material within that
In comparison
Act 1 and Act 3 might not take up much space at all
But don't be mistaken
What I'm referring to here in terms of "space" isn't the importance of those parts
but the length of the story
The length of Act 1 and Act 3 might not be much
but in terms of storytelling value, they are extremely important
Since we're in the stage of starting the story
won't explain Act 2 just yet
which will be filled with all sorts of interesting plot points
That's something we'll cover again later
So, for now
Let's focus on Acts 1 and 3
If you're thinking
How can you summarize such a long story
in such a short space?
I have a training method I'd recommend
Since you're likely very interested in webtoons
you're listening this lecture
So, you've probably seen many long webtoons by now
A great exercise would be summarizing
those long webtoons into the three-act structure on your own
What's important here is that I'm talking about completed webtoons
If the webtoon is still ongoing, Act 3 hasn't happened yet
So it might not be suitable for this kind of summary training
But if the webtoon is complete
You can analyze it
by looking at the protagonist's starting state
ending state, and the changes that took place
Of course, there might be stories you can't analyze
But as I said earlier
There can be exceptions in insects
and plants
However, if the story has a well-established three-act structure
Huh, it's actually a much simpler structure than I thought
You'll likely think like this
Even if the adventure in the middle is spectacular and amazing
If you simplify the story
It could be the tale of a coward who becomes a hero
Act 1: the protagonist is a coward
Act 3: the protagonist becomes a hero
What has changed?
The protagonist gains courage, regains self-esteem
and becomes someone who empowers others
Through this transformation
They become a different person
It could be a story about someone who lacked confidence and regained it
Someone who didn't believe in love but ended up living for it
or even a story where childhood friends became romantic partners
These stories can be summarized very simply
By practicing this exercise with other works
The structure of your own story will become much clearer
In Act 1, I can show the protagonist's initial state
like this
In a story where the protagonist is set up as a coward
you'll see how the character's fear is portrayed
Then you'll think
I can insert an event like this into my own story
And for the final episode
you'll understand how to wrap up
with an impactful scene
This is a completely different concept from plagiarism
The more work you engage with
the more your own creativity will rise
So, I hope you're not afraid of analyzing
other people's works
Additionally, one misconception
many readers have is that
writers create stories sequentially
When I was a reader, I thought the same way
For example, you might think a writer writes episode 1, then episode 2
then episode 3
and the ending is carefully crafted at the very end
So, for instance, if the story is completed at episode 50
the writer writes episode 49 and then worries about episode 50
People mostly think like this
This seems natural
because readers read the story in that order
Especially with webtoons nowadays, since they are serialized
and released week by week
It makes sense to think the writer works this way
But I can say with certainty that for a writer
It's very difficult to write the story this way
Remember when I compared this
to a journey at the beginning of this class?
There can be trips
where you set out without knowing the destination
but for most journeys, there is some sort of goal
For example, you might know you'll return home in ten days
or head to Busan
If you're writing episode 1 and then wondering about episode 2
It's like setting out on a journey with a backpack but thinking
I don't know where I'm going
That kind of journey
can be enjoyable
But it can't be called a systematic journey
At least there should be a purpose
I want to finish this trip
without spending any money
and return home
I want to visit Haeundae in Busan
and dip my feet in the water
I don't mind where I go
but I want to make sure I travel for a week
The clearer the purpose is
The easier it will be to continue the journey
How to Start a Story
Who? Me
When writing a story, what's important is that
the writer feels comfortable
If the writer is comfortable, continuing the journey
and finishing it well becomes easier
I've mentioned that the basic structure of a story consists of a beginning and an end
and that there should be changes in between
However, a common question arises
Does the protagonist really have to change?
This kind of questions are asked
This is a great question
When I hear it, I'm happy to explain it thoroughly
This question comes up
because it's hard for people to change
So why talk about it so easily?
I understand
Honestly, I can't even recall
a major change in my life right now
if you asked me to
But this is where things get a bit mixed up
Yes, it's indeed hard for people to undergo change
But that's exactly why the change
is valuable in your story
In reality, we live without much change
from yesterday to today or today to tomorrow
However, if you reflect this reality directly in the story
where the protagonist also lives
without any change
I'm the same today, the same tomorrow
I'm a coward today, and I'll be a coward tomorrow
and the story will end with me still being a coward
There's no reason for the readers to pay attention
This is because it mirrors our everyday life
It might sound a bit lonely
But I believe that, as humans, we fundamentally
yearn for change
'Someday, something good will happen'
'Someday, something interesting will happen'
'There will be change in my life,' that's what we believe
And sometimes, those changes do occur
When they do, we experience a huge emotional transformation
We watch stories to witness those changes
We watch comics, webtoons, dramas, and movies
not to see our everyday lives
but to experience something more
The same goes for webtoons
If you've thought of a story
written the beginning and the ending
and there's no difference between them
Like, the beginning is "I am lazy,"
and the end is "I am lazy"
Then you might need to
reconsider the story
I'll explain this in two parts
First, if there is truly no change
in the protagonist
Then, as I mentioned earlier
the story might lack value
But here's a more hopeful thought
It's more likely that you just
didn't notice the change
How could I, as the writer, not notice the change?
Well, it's possible
Writers often don't fully realize the changes in their own stories
Let me give you an example to explain
Let's say the protagonist
starts with no romantic partner
Okay?
In the end
They're still single
Don't have a romantic partner
Does that mean the story has no value?
Actually, we have to look closer
The middle of the story might involve
the protagonist having a relationship, breaking up
and then ending up single again
In this case, the protagonist who starts as single
is same single at the end?
It may feel a bit awkward because the "single" situation is repeated
But the "single" at the beginning, when the protagonist hasn't experienced a relationship
is not the same as the "single" at the end
after they've experienced a relationship and a breakup
Even though both single me at the start
I mean, the protagonist
And the single me at the end
would likely say different things
and make different choices
For example, at the beginning
If someone confesses their feelings to me, I would think
You like me? Of course, let's start dating
But by the end of the story
I would probably pause and reflect on my own feelings
before making a decision
The protagonist hasn't changed regarding being single
But it has transformed significantly
They have gone through a meaningful change
The process of that change, with its ups and downs, takes place in Act 2
This part of the story is a crucial part of the narrative
How well it's depicted
will determine how convincing the protagonist's transformation
in Act 3 will be
There's a person named Christopher Vogler
who is well-known for writing his screenplays
and more famous for
advising or editing
others' scripts
He became famous for his work
on the "12 Stages of the Hero's Journey"
While working in Hollywood
Vogler attended a lecture by a mythologist named Joseph Campbell
As I mentioned earlier, Campbell
is known for studying myths
He discovered that many myths from around the world
shared common elements
So, whether Greek, Roman
Korean, or Filipino
they have a common element
Based on this, Campbell developed his theories
Christopher Vogler realized that
the concept could also be applied to
Hollywood screenplays
He thought like that, so he developed
Joseph Campbell's theories
which eventually became the famous "12 Stages of the Hero's Journey"
I won't explain the entire of that here
But according to "12 Stages of the Hero's Journey"
the protagonist enters a new world in Act 1
and by the end of Act 3, they return with the "elixir,"
This is a direct translation
It is written "elixir"
which means they return with a reward or some form of accomplishment
Here's something important to note
While in Act 1, the protagonist enters a new world
and faces many adventures
By the end
They don't necessarily become the ruler of the new world
or live in wealth and luxury
Instead, the protagonist returns to the place they came from
This return is the final part of the Hero's Journey
It might sound a bit empty
But when we look at actual works
We realize it doesn't mean
the protagonist's adventures were for nothing
For example, let's say at the beginning
the protagonist is a humble shepherd
He lives an ordinary life
with their sheep
Then, a messenger arrives
and tells him he is the chosen hero
The messenger gives him a sword and tells him to embark on an adventure
How can I do something like that?
But he goes on to become a hero, face countless challenges
Defeat powerful enemies
and resist all temptations
This would be Act 2
In the end, he returns to being a shepherd
Because he said he'll return
If we continue this story structure
Act 3 would show
the protagonist who became a shepherd again
lying in a field of grass, smiling alone
and the story would end there
So, what is Act 1? The humble shepherd
What is Act 3? The same shepherd
Yes, the shepherd is the same
But is this just any shepherd?
This shepherd has endured incredible adventures as a hero
defeated powerful foes
and resisted all temptations
This ending holds its emotional weight
This character could have been a king
could have lived a life of luxury
and could have had many other choices
But they rejected them all and ended up here, smiling
We know it
While other characters in the story might wonder
What has this person been doing for the past year?
I don't know, he just disappeared and is back herding sheep
Whatever
We, the readers, know
We know he is the hero
the shepherd who saved the world
That's a huge transformation
I often hear one common question
I think it's too forced for the protagonist to change
How can a coward become a hero?
Can't others change?
But in a story, it's not just the protagonist who changes
In long-form comics
as you well know
many characters besides the protagonist
play significant roles
These characters can be divided into main and supporting roles
and many undergo changes
For example, the antagonist
might be moved by the protagonist's bravery
and save his life
Saying, "I'm your ally now,"
or "I won't interfere with what you're doing anymore"
This can happen
Or perhaps a character who was the protagonist's biggest ally
might suddenly become an antagonist, saying, "I'm sorry, but I can't betray my father,"
and switching sides
Countless changes can happen to characters
and some of these changes could form
their three-act structure centered around that character
If we expand on the character I just mentioned
At the beginning, the son of the Demon King
holds a deep grudge against his father
who is the Demon King and decides to live a life of justice
That could be the starting point
In the middle, he becomes a companion of the hero and pursues the path of justice
I can't do this
I can't betray my father
He thinks like that and changes his heart
But at the end, he could think
But at this last moment
I want to do the right thing
He stops his father's sword
from striking his friend, the hero
and as he bleeds, he says
I was a good guy, right?
Don't say that and hold on
I was really happy when I was with you
before dying
In this case, he's not the protagonist
but has his own three-act structure
Do you understand?
However, it's important to note that
he should not become
the story's center
For example, let's say
the Demon King's son, who we'll call Cheolsu
Isn't this name fine?
Cheolsu goes through an even greater change than the protagonist
He initially chooses justice
but struggles with the decision
and chooses justice
It's a powerful change
All the readers focus on his choice
and the entire story shifts based on his betrayal
If that happens
Then, honestly
The writer might not realize it, but, likely
Cheolsu has already become the story's true protagonist
Now, we've talked about how to start a story
One of the biggest obstacles
writers face when they begin a story
is the tendency to want to write it sequentially, step by step
This might be because when we study something else
Finishing the first semester of the first year
Then the second semester
We studied like this
So, you might think that stories should also
be written sequentially like that
However, this approach is like
trying to build a 10-story building
on an empty lot
It's like trying to build a 10-story building
by stacking one brick at a time
Do you think it will reach 10 stories?
I don't think so
When actually building a large structure like a 10-story building
Though I'm no expert in architecture
Even I, a layperson think that
you'd first need a plan
You would need to lay the foundation according to the plan
and then build the framework
Only after that would you proceed
to construct the building step by step
For example, if you have an empty lot
and start placing one brick
after another without any plan
You won't know what you're actually building
The longer the journey, the more important it is
to understand what you're doing
and where the end of the path is
In the next session
We will cover the part we didn’t touch on today
Earlier, I said we'll skip Act 2
for now
To fill Act 2
We first need Act 1 and Act 3
so this time, we focused on those
In the next session, we'll discuss
how to fill Act 2 and finish the story
Thank you
How to Plan a Story and the Three-Act Structure How to Plan a Story You need to define the protagonist's 'starting state' and 'ending state'
The beginning and end of the story should be defined with intention The start and end should be structured in a way that best showcases the main theme of the story
Three-Act Structure A story consists of a beginning, middle, and end To summarize a long story, it's helpful to practice summarizing long webtoons using the three-act structure
For completed webtoons, you can analyze the protagonist's starting state, ending state, and the changes that occurred Practicing with other works will gradually clarify the structure of your own story
At the very least, there should be a clear purpose from the start, and the clearer the purpose, the easier it becomes to continue the journey
How to Start a Story Does the protagonist have to change? Change is valuable and significant, which is why it adds worth to the story Readers won’t be interested in stories with no change in the characters
Changes in Characters Other Than the Protagonist In long stories, many characters besides the protagonist play significant roles, and many of them undergo changes
Supporting characters can have their three-act structure, but they should not become the focus of the story
How to Start a Story Start like building a structure: Design - Lay down the foundation - Build the framework - Construct
As a writer, it's important to know 'what you are doing now and where the end of the path leads' rather than writing the story in 'a strict, sequential order'