Basic story beats

Those things I grabbed from http://writeonsisters.com/ to have them at hand when poking on my stories.

Basic Story Beats

So those are the Basic Story Beats that are the main elements of a story.

Opening Image

… shows where the protagonist is at the beginning of the story. This is important to set up because the protagonist must change by the end of the story.

Theme

… is what your book is about. Usually spoken to the protagonist, often without the protagonist realizing that what is said will be key to her surviving the story.

Set-Up

… establishes the protagonist’s world (family, school, work) and introduces supporting characters. This is also where the protagonist’s personal problems are revealed, the stuff she’ll need to fix by the end of the story in order for that vital character change to take place.

Catalyst

… is also called The Inciting Incident. This event disrupts the character’s world and starts the story. Without it, there’s no story. For example, in “The Hunger Games” the catalyst is when Katniss’s sister’s name is selected for the games. If another kid’s name had been selected, there wouldn’t be a story – Katniss would just keep on hunting and hanging out with Gabe in her district. Life would remain the same. The catalyst is a moment so big that it changes the protagonist’s life.

Debate

… is when the protagonist decides how to proceed. Should she go on this journey? Should she refuse the journey? Of course, she has to go for there to be a story, but doubt adds tension and makes the protagonist more human, which strengthens the story.

Break Into Two

… Act Two, that is. This is where the protagonist makes the choice to leave her familiar world behind and go on the journey to achieve a goal. The key to this beat is that the protagonist must choose this course of action, not be forced or tricked into it.

B Story

… character is introduced. Often this is the love interest, but can also be a sidekick or a mentor. Basically, the protagonist needs an ally. This ally guides the protagonist through to the end and is often instrumental in helping the protagonist learn the Theme, i.e. what she needs to do to survive and win the story. This content is more then a filler, if you remove it your story must break. A story is about what the player WANTS B story is about what the player NEEDS

Fun & Games

… is the promise of the premise. If your novel was a movie, the F&G section would be featured in the trailer. For instance, in a romantic comedy, this is where the two love interests clash.

Midpoint

… is usually a False Victory where the protagonist thinks she’s achieved her goal but she hasn’t. It’s here that the stakes are raised and the bad guys start to close in on the protagonist. (The Midpoint can also be a False Defeat, but that’ll take a whole other blog post to explain.)

Bad Guys Close In

… Both internal problems (inside the protagonist’s team or within the protagonist herself) and external problems (bad guys) tighten their grip and get closer and closer to thwarting the protagonist’s goal.

All Is Lost

… is usually a False Defeat. If at the Midpoint the protagonist thought that she’d achieved her goal, this is where she thinks she’s utterly and completely failed.

Dark Night of the Soul

… is where the protagonist has lost all hope. The worst thing about this beat is that she knows it’s her fault. The hero that resonates is not innocent and blameless and perfect; she has flaws just like we do. And despite her best intentions, she had a hand in her own defeat. The protagonist has to be beaten and know it in order to have a revelation that saves her, which leads to…

Break Into Three

… Thanks to a fresh idea, new inspiration, or last-minute action or advice from the B story ally, the protagonist digs deep to find a solution.

Finale

… From what she’s gone through and what she’s learned (i.e. Theme), the protagonist forges a third way and conquers her problems (both internal and external).

Final Image

… is the opposite of the Opening Image, proving a change has occurred. After all, what’s the point of the story if it doesn’t change the protagonist’s life?

4 Act System

You might separate your story into 4 acts and create a table with them as rows.

• I: it ends with Break into2
• II: the end is the midpoint
• III: the end is break into3
• IV: up to Final moment Attach your scenes-ideas to the acts in columns. There should be around 10 scenes per rows.
• do side by side scenes connect to each other; if not you might need to fill in another one
• is the scenes distribution balanced; take care to not put to much in ActI
• take care that Act3 is not to short
• how is your sidekick embedded in the story
• the end of each section are important pivot points; think of cliffhangers

Is it a scene?

When you have scribbled down something that might be a scene, ask yourself the following questions to see if its really one:

• Does the character want something; If there is nothing you want, there is no motivation
• Is there something that prevents them to fullfill their desire; if there is no obstacle, you have no conflict to solve
• does the conflict move the story forward; if there is no change caused by the story, you have no progress (but maybe the scene is used as filler)
• is there a emotional change to the character; if the character doesnt care, why should the player

Character Arc

Let me reiterate: the plot changes the hero. The character arc is not some side street that runs parallel to the main road and never intersects. The character arc travels right on the main plot! The arc happens because of the plot, not despite it. You can see how if a writer comes up with the character arc first they can create a plot that will push the hero’s buttons and poke at his flaws and force him to change. And, at least to me, that seems easier than moulding a character to a pre-existing plot idea. Maybe I’m wrong. Writers who write this way (character first), please chime in in the Comments! Since I write plot first, I’ve come up with some things to consider when creating that crucial character arc from plot…

Skills.

What skills are needed to resolve this plot? At the beginning, the hero doesn’t have these skills, or has the skills but hasn’t mastered them, and must develop them over the course of the story. Often skills arise from overcoming flaws.

Flaws.

What flaw does your hero need to complicate this plot? For instance, if your story is about an orphaned rich kid who spent all his inheritance and now has to get a job and a roommate, give him the flaw of being uncompromising. This flaw will make getting a job and roommate more difficult, and of course, in order to succeed by the end, he will have to change and learn to compromise (a skill he didn’t have at the beginning). Other flaws that would work for this plot: classism, laziness, naiveté.

Fears.

Why does this plot scare your hero? Fear is part of all stories, not just thrillers and horrors. In a romantic comedy, the fear is rejection. The presence of fear means there are stakes for the hero, and if there are stakes the hero will care enough to change, hence the character arc. In the bankrupt orphan story, his fear could be losing the family mansion, the only connection he has to his deceased parents. Without fear, the character won’t give a damn about changing and have no arc.

Secrets.

How does this plot threaten to expose your hero? Protecting secrets is a great way to add internal conflict and strengthen the character arc. Another approach is have the plot reveal information the hero didn’t even know! Either way, the plot should rattle all the skeletons in your hero’s closet.

Morals.

What morals does this plot test? Plots that upend the hero’s belief system make for strong character arcs. Perhaps the bankrupt orphan thinks he’s better than the working class. The plot of getting a job will certainly challenge that belief!