What do you think is the purpose of the three act structure?
It's structure. Anything with structure is often perceived as good. I especially think that this form holds a lot of value in one-shot books. And by that, I mean, a story that starts and ends with one book.
Why do you think this structure is the most popular amongst storytellers across the world?
The format. It's sequential and uni-directional. Most stories are linear, and benefit greatly from such form. I think that's what adds to the beauty of this format. Interestingly, I've been writing for so long, and I've been kind of winging it. Never really studied the three-act structure until your infographic, @KRWilliams. But I can see patterns form from the way I've written my other books, when in comparison with the three-act structure. It's almost wired into your brain to write that way, and at the same time, I think the readers are also wired to read stories the same way. That probably adds to the popularity.
What issues do you think sticking rigidly to a three-act structure could cause?
I love this question! And the reason I love this question is, I try my best to not think of a structure when writing my stories. I like to think of building a world, its characters, and its premise. Now. After developing personalities, I often step back and let the story simmer the way it's supposed to. I loosely hold onto the overall plot, but I let the characters guide the story more strongly. It helps with my emotions as well.
Several of my characters have died because that's just how they would've reacted in such a situation, or because they simply couldn't overcome said situation no matter how hard they tried. Similarly, one person's decision, at a certain point, would have made my life as a writer much better, but instead, due to their personality, they end up doing something else entirely, throwing a wrench into my plan and progress of the story. When you create a world, you can't become its god. I think that's the beauty of writing, unless you're writing non-fiction, to allow the characters to carry your story forward, even if it stops being uni-directional. Does that still ensure a three-act structure? Perhaps. But I'm fine even if it breaks away from it in such scenarios.
What novels can you think of that use a simple three-act structure?
I grew up reading a ton of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novels, and also a ton of Jeffry Archer's works. They're usually very defined stories. And I think they fit best with the structure in question.
What novels can you think of that break the rules of the three-act structure?
The Alchemist from Paulo Coelho comes to mind, despite being a one-shot. In my opinion, it's as far as you can get from a three-act structure. But it was still wildly entertaining, and with a good sense of finality attached to it. Let's see, anything that spans over several books, or even manga or manhwa? Although, one could argue that they follow bite-sized three-act structures throughout the course of their arcs. But in totality, are all those pieces necessary for the story to have progressed from A to Z? Take One Piece, for example. It's a story with a defined plot and ending - Become the Pirate King. But if you remove one or two, or even multiple arcs between chapter 1 and chapter 900, does it still take away from the overall story? I don't think so.
That felt great to write! 
