I've been talking about story structure for years (at least I have with my in-person groups). I've spent years studying the topic, devouring everything that I could find about it. And in all my years of studying story structure, I've noticed something interesting.
Regular consumers of story, either written or film, learn to recognize the patterns that come with the rise and fall of action. They develop this innate instinct about when things should happen. If something is off with the pacing of a story, the readers know. They can feel it. They may not be able to explain why the pacing is off, but they still know that it's off.
Story structure models help to provide reasoning and some mathematics to what the readers know by instinct. This is why story structure is more important than what some writers give it credit for.
However, in all my years of studying story structure, I've also noticed that emphasis is often given to the protagonist of the story, focusing on their actions and decisions. The antagonist is often treated as an afterthought or ignored completely. As such, the dynamic interplay between the protagonist and the antagonist is not leveraged to its full potential.
When I noticed this pattern, I started to develop my own story structure model that leans into the interplay between the protagonist and the antagonist. As I write this blog post, I'm currently writing a full book about the topic, defining the antagonist and looking at story structure in detail, incorporating the antagonist into the model. That book is slated for publication come February 2026, but it's time to start sharing with the world the base structure that I'm calling the Black Wolf Story Structure model.
The Black Wolf Story Structure model is an amalgamation of a lot of different models, but adds the antagonistic beats that are commonly missed or misunderstood. I employ a four-act structure.
I write thrillers and action-based stories
Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of the components of the Black Wolf model, I should point out that my personal fiction writing is often an action-based thriller that leans into the good-guy-vs-bad-guy trope. As a consequence, the names that I've adopted for certain beats and sections of a story are targeted for that kind of story. However, as we talk about the details for the beats and sections of a story, it is my hope that you'll see how the beat names I use apply to other stories too, with different antagonist. You can find a full description of the different types of antagonists found in story over on my post Understanding the Nature of the Antagonist.
This blog post is just a quick overview of the model itself. If you would like more detailed information, you will need to read a copy of the book when it comes out next year.
This post also refers a lot to the protagonist and the antagonist. If you are not entirely sure who the protagonist is for your story or what role the antagonist plays in a story, I suggest you read The Role of the Antagonist.
The Base Model
Consider a long-form story with a single protagonist striving towards a goal. Because it's a long story, it's going to have a main plot (which we will call the A-story) and a secondary subplot (the B-story). As a consequence, our story will have at least two antagonists: one associated with the A-story, and the second associated with the B-story.
Of our two antagonists, one will be from an external source (i.e., another character, the environment, or society). However, the other antagonist will be some internal demon (man vs self). Exactly which one is related to the A-story and the B-story will depend on the story itself. (There is a whole theory associated with the A-story/B-story interplay, which I briefly discussed in my post The Traditional 3-Act Structure: Part 2.)
The Story Sections in the BW Model
A long-form story can be divided into four (4) acts, each consisting of approximately 25% of the story. The transition between acts can be defined by a decision that the protagonist makes. However, each act also contains an action beat that is directly connected to the main antagonist (the one connected to the A-story), dividing our story into eight (8) sections (not of equal size), where each act consists of two sections.
The eight (8) sections of the story are:
- Act 1, Section 1: Setup
- Act 1, Section 2: Clings to Status Quo
- Act 2, Section 1: Defining the Problems
- Act 2, Section 2: Fun and Games
- Act 3, Section 1: Time to Fight Back
- Act 3, Section 2: Failure Sucks!
- Act 4, Section 1: The Bad Guy is Going Down!
- Act 4, Section 2: Aftermath
The Setup is where the story starts. The main characters and the world they live in are introduced. It is in this section that the status quo for our main characters is defined. When the status quo is disrupted, our protagonist Clings to Status Quo, until something happens that forces our protagonist to recognize that status quo is no longer possible.
In Defining the Problems, the nature of the obstacles that our protagonist faces is revealed. (And this is when the antagonist can come out to play.) In the Fun and Games, the story takes on a back-and-forth nature between the protagonist and the antagonist, and the wins happen on both sides.
In every story, there is a point when it is Time to Fight Back. The protagonist is making headway and gaining ground… until they don't. At which point, we come to Failure Sucks! The protagonist suffers a major setback that threatens to derail everything that they've worked towards.
Then we come to the final act of the story, where the tension continually builds until the final climatic moment. I call this section The Bad Guy is Going Down!
And the story finishes with the Aftermath, where we see some sort of resolution for the story, and the major plot points come to an end.
As we move from one section to the next, there is normally a pivotal moment within the story that directly affects our protagonist. The transitions between acts coincide with a key decision from the protagonist. However, the transition between sections within the act is connected to a beat that is influenced by the A-story antagonist.
The Beat Points
The opening image of the story is our first beat point. This defines the status quo for our protagonist and is the start of the Setup. We get a glimpse of the world that our characters are living in, and we get a glimpse of trouble on the horizon. Then something will happen that will disrupt the status quo, flipping it upside down. But this inciting event (the second beat point) does more than just flip the world upside down. It also gives the reader a hint of who or what the main antagonist of the story is. Under ideal circumstances, the inciting event will happen early in the story (typically within the first 10%).
After the inciting event (after the status quo is disrupted), the main character will go through denial (transitioning to Clings to Status Quo). However, something of significance will happen that forces the protagonist to accept reality and to let go of status quo. I call this third beat point the extra push. It is a moment that forces the main character (the protagonist) to make a decision to let go of status quo and to embark on a quest for the new status quo, even if it is reluctantly. The decision to let go of status quo from the protagonist (the fourth beat point) is the point that marks the transition from Act 1 into Act 2. I call this decision point the first point of no return.
In a longer form story, such as a novel or a feature-length movie, near the beginning of Act 2, in Defining the Problems, we'll encounter the introduction of the B-story, where a minor character highlights an issue of consequence to the main character.
For action-based stories, the B-story is typically an internal emotional growth story. For example, a love story. This could also be a trust issue. It's whatever internal lesson the main character needs to learn. However, if your story is using an internally driven A-story (leaning into the man-vs-self trope), then your B-story will likely be externally driven.
The transition between Defining the Problems and the Fun and Games is marked by an action of the antagonist for the A-story, known as the pinch point. It is a point where we get to see what the antagonist for the A-story is truly capable of without the filter of the protagonist. (It turns out that I have never discussed the pinch points on my blog in detail, something that I will need to rectify in the future.)
Throughout Act 2 (in both Defining the Problems and Fun and Games), the nature of the conflicts shown on the page will be connected with either the A-story or the B-story, showing the reader some of the interplay that happens between these two plots. However, the connection between the A-story and the B-story deepens during Act 3, ultimately combining the two plots into the same story.
The end of the Fun and Games is marked by the midpoint. It is traditionally called the midpoint because it occurs midway through the manuscript (50%). But the midpoint also defines the moment when the protagonist shifts from being reactive to what is going on around them to becoming proactive. The story shifts from what the protagonist wants to what they need. In some models, the midpoint is also known as the mirror moment.
After the midpoint, we move into Time to Fight Back.
During the first section of Act 3 (Time to Fight Back), this new proactive stance allows the protagonist to make headway in achieving their goals. However, there is a hint of hesitation in their actions. They haven't totally let go of the life they thought they wanted at the beginning of the story (which is directly connected to the B-story). The antagonist for the B-story opens the door for the antagonist of the A-story to strike hard… and strike where it hurts. We encounter the second pinch point, and transition into Failure Sucks!, where the main character faces setback after setback, including the all-is-lost moment. And the A-story and the B-story start to merge, becoming one plot for the remainder of the story.
The all-is-lost moment is when something major happens that sends the main character into a downward spiral. This moment is also known as the death moment, because, in many stories, this is the death of a mentor or a loved one of great importance. After the main character has had their moment of wallowing (often termed as the dark night of the soul), they will make a decision to commit 100% to the path before them. I call this decision point the second point of no return, and it marks the transition into the final act of the story (and into The Bad Guy is Going Down!).
During the first section of the final act (The Bad Guy is Going Down!), you will have multiple beats that occur in quick succession. (The terms used for the beats in the final act have been borrowed (and modified) from the Save the Cat! models in its various iterations.)
First, you have gathering of the team, which is a point where the protagonist gathers the forces necessary to go after the bad guy. Then you have storm the castle, where they rush in… and fail in false castle. But because Plan A, B, and C have all failed, the characters have to dig deep, making up Plan Z on the fly, leading to the climax. If we have stacked up the tension correctly, when we hit the final climatic moment, we won't know who will win. It could go either way: in favor of the protagonist or the main antagonist.
However, when the final showdown is all over, we transition into the Aftermath, where we get a glimpse of what the new status quo looks like (the final image).
The Full Model
If we were to plot the beat points onto a story chart, we would get something that looks like this:
Antagonistic Beats of a Story
As I write this blog post, I'm also writing a full book about the Black Wolf Story Structure model, taking a deep dive into each beat point and going into the finer points of the A-story/B-story dynamic, the interplay between the protagonist and the antagonist, the pinch points, and all the other fun parts of crafting a story. In the book, I'm also addressing issues that arise when you have multiple protagonist with their own story arcs and story structures that incorporate a C-story, a D-story, and as many antagonists as we can throw in. (Hint: The base model still works, but the calculations are no longer simple because of the added layers.)
That book, Antagonistic Beats of a Story, is slated for release come February 2026. Watch this space for more information as we get closer to release.
Meanwhile, if you would like to learn more about story structure, or would like to have me examine your story in a detailed manner, reach out regarding my editorial and writing coaching services.