Post by Siana Blackwood on Aug 23, 2011 22:06:21 GMT -5
I don't actually remember how I came across this, but I found a blog post talking about applying Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet (and i only have a rough idea what that is...) to novels. It's an interesting way of structuring the planning phase and the insaniac in me is looking at it and wondering if maybe this could help out with 'pantsing' a WriMo but still coming up with a structured novel.
Yes, insaniac is a real word. Okay, no it isn't. It probably isn't even a Twitter hashtag. That's not the point, though. The point is this:
The 15 'beats'
Opening Image: A glimpse at our main character before life throws her a curve ball and she’s forced to change. As Blake says, the opening image is the “before snap shot.”
Theme Stated: In movies the theme is usually stated in an offhand remark or question posed by someone other than the main character.
Set-Up: The set-up occurs in the book over the first few chapters. It’s the calm before the storm. The events leading up to the big “curve ball” that will be thrown at the main character at any minute.
Catalyst: Curve ball! The unexpected event that occurs in the main character’s life that throws everything off track and will inevitably force her to change. Without this event, life would just keep going on the way it was and nothing would ever happen—i.e., a very boring story!
Debate: What will the main character do about this unexpected curve ball that life has thrown her? It’s unrealistic for a character to just say, “Oh, well, life sucks, I guess I’ll have to deal with this unexpected event.” Real life people always fight change. And therefore, so should characters. Which is why the debate section is so organic in any story.
Break into Two: Act 2 is typically supposed to be the upside-down version of Act 1, in this beat, the main character has finally decided what to do about this new turn of events. And now we’re catapulted into the next section of the story.
Fun and Games: These are the scenes that we are teased with in the movie trailer, or on the jacket flap of the book.
B Story: The B Story usually refers to a secondary story line that’s not directly related to the main story (although they will inevitably merge by the end). In most movies, this is the love story. Or a new friendship that blossoms.
Midpoint: We’ve reached the middle! It’s usually either a “false victory” for the main character—the character thinks she has won and defeated whatever happened in the catalyst section—or a “false defeat”—the character has tried but failed and lost all hope.
Bad Guys Close In: This is the section where things start to go wrong (if it’s a false victory) or start to turn around (if it’s a false defeat).
All Is Lost: The bad guys have closed in, won, and now “all is lost” for the main character. Or at least that’s the way it seems.
Dark Night of the Soul: The so-called “depression” that the main character falls into because All is (seemingly) Lost. She’s given up hope of anything ever being right again.
Break into Three: But! Our story can’t end on a sad, depressing note! The main character must prevail! This is the moment when the story launches into the third and final act. When the main character has her big “aha! moment.” She finally figures out what went wrong and how it can all be fixed.
Finale: The last few chapters of the book/minutes of the movie where the main character puts her action plan into effect! And voila! It works!
Closing Image: The mirror image of the first beat (the opening image). The character should be different now. She should have grown, matured, learned a few things about life. Her life should be “good” again but not in the same way it was at the beginning. And she should now understand why her life wasn’t really as “good” at the beginning as she thought it was.
(Source:
www.blakesnyder.com/2010/09/17/the-last-novel-writing-book-you%E2%80%99ll-ever-need/
Yes, insaniac is a real word. Okay, no it isn't. It probably isn't even a Twitter hashtag. That's not the point, though. The point is this:
The 15 'beats'
Opening Image: A glimpse at our main character before life throws her a curve ball and she’s forced to change. As Blake says, the opening image is the “before snap shot.”
Theme Stated: In movies the theme is usually stated in an offhand remark or question posed by someone other than the main character.
Set-Up: The set-up occurs in the book over the first few chapters. It’s the calm before the storm. The events leading up to the big “curve ball” that will be thrown at the main character at any minute.
Catalyst: Curve ball! The unexpected event that occurs in the main character’s life that throws everything off track and will inevitably force her to change. Without this event, life would just keep going on the way it was and nothing would ever happen—i.e., a very boring story!
Debate: What will the main character do about this unexpected curve ball that life has thrown her? It’s unrealistic for a character to just say, “Oh, well, life sucks, I guess I’ll have to deal with this unexpected event.” Real life people always fight change. And therefore, so should characters. Which is why the debate section is so organic in any story.
Break into Two: Act 2 is typically supposed to be the upside-down version of Act 1, in this beat, the main character has finally decided what to do about this new turn of events. And now we’re catapulted into the next section of the story.
Fun and Games: These are the scenes that we are teased with in the movie trailer, or on the jacket flap of the book.
B Story: The B Story usually refers to a secondary story line that’s not directly related to the main story (although they will inevitably merge by the end). In most movies, this is the love story. Or a new friendship that blossoms.
Midpoint: We’ve reached the middle! It’s usually either a “false victory” for the main character—the character thinks she has won and defeated whatever happened in the catalyst section—or a “false defeat”—the character has tried but failed and lost all hope.
Bad Guys Close In: This is the section where things start to go wrong (if it’s a false victory) or start to turn around (if it’s a false defeat).
All Is Lost: The bad guys have closed in, won, and now “all is lost” for the main character. Or at least that’s the way it seems.
Dark Night of the Soul: The so-called “depression” that the main character falls into because All is (seemingly) Lost. She’s given up hope of anything ever being right again.
Break into Three: But! Our story can’t end on a sad, depressing note! The main character must prevail! This is the moment when the story launches into the third and final act. When the main character has her big “aha! moment.” She finally figures out what went wrong and how it can all be fixed.
Finale: The last few chapters of the book/minutes of the movie where the main character puts her action plan into effect! And voila! It works!
Closing Image: The mirror image of the first beat (the opening image). The character should be different now. She should have grown, matured, learned a few things about life. Her life should be “good” again but not in the same way it was at the beginning. And she should now understand why her life wasn’t really as “good” at the beginning as she thought it was.
(Source:
www.blakesnyder.com/2010/09/17/the-last-novel-writing-book-you%E2%80%99ll-ever-need/
.