Writing tips (2 of 20). Write like a play

Write like a play
Don't get me wrong, you don't actually have to write a play!
Think for a moment about a play you've seen, on the stage or television - even your favourite movie...
It has a beginning, a middle, and an end, just like us! So have in mind, when (if) you're planning your work, that it should have these three elements.
The thing to remember is that each of these IS NOT one third of the whole - they need to be different lengths. 'Act I' is shorter than 'Act II' and 'Act III' hardly hangs around at all.
A rule of thumb is:
Act I, around 20% of the total.
Act II, around 75% of the total.
Act III, around 5% of the total.
This means, of course, that you have to have some idea of the overall size of the story right at the beginning! Am I writing 500 words, 5,000, or 50,000?
And the same idea applies to individual chapters.
My personal best example of all this is The Day and Night Machine (see http://www.lulu.com/content/541352), a story about a girl who receives a birthday present from her father, who was killed about a year before.