Best for those outling a new work.
- Ever since an established producer recommended I read Blake Snyder's Save the Cat, I've found it to be an essential tool, both for my own writing, and for the writers I've worked with as a consultant. I think its 'Beat Sheet' is great for structuring a story - and that it builds on paradigms that have come before in a fun and very practical way.
- 'The Beat Sheet calculator allows you to enter the total projected number of pages in your screenplay, and then returns to you a beat by beat sheet of the fifteen major events in the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet.'
What's awesome about it
- The word count for each beat
Blake Snyder was famous for his 'beat sheet.' This was his original, funny, idiosyncratic (and very insightful) way of breaking down a story into its constituent elements. There are fifteen beats in the Blake Snyder beat sheet, starting with 'Opening Image' and continuing through 'Set-up,' 'Catalyst,' 'B Story,' 'Bad Guys.
What's not-so-awesome
- It's daunting, especially when your manuscript is half-written
- No capacity to outline subplots
The awesome
When I first came across Blake Synder's Beat Sheet (BS2), I was half-way through the manuscript for Hero and the word count for each beat made me to blanch. The idea of trying to shoehorn my (at that point in time) pantsed story into all of those little boxes (opening image, catalyst, black moment) with their prescribed word counts, was more than my brain could take, but when I went back to the BS2, a new story in mind, they appeared as godsends.
I don't know about you, but I often find myself wondering how long the different stages of my plot (setup, act II, etc) should be. The BS2 solves that issue by calculating when a stage should start and end, based on your overall word count. Say you want to write a 100,000-word novel (about 400 pages), then your setup should be around 9,000 words long and the first half of your second act 27,500.
It also has the side-benefit of breaking your manuscript into manageable chunks; instead of stressing about only having 13,000 words done, you can celebrate having written Turning Point 1.
The not-so-awesome
If you've come across a beat sheet template and haven't read Blake Snyder's book, Save the Cat, it can be daunting. The descriptions of the beats included in the template don't fully adequately what's meant to happen in each beat, and finding more information on the internet is practially impossible (or else I wasn't looking in the right places).
In the end, I bought Save the Cat, and it was worth every one of the ten dollars I spent on it.
What I love most about the 7-point plot system, and which BS2 doesn't do at all, is the ability to outline subplots alongside the main plot and then layer them to see how they interact.
LENZ LI-USB DRIVER FOR MAC - Paco Canada also provides two methods for adding feedback to non-feedback equipped systems. The BlackBox is a standalone decoder programmer. This feedback comes through the use of S88 compatible feedback modules. This includes the LI-Server, which may be running in the background. The LH is the command station used. Lenz li-usb Elite can be used for operating equipment on a layout oenz trains and throwing switches and for programming from JMRI. Operating Locomotives and Turnouts on the layout Programming decoders on a programming track or in ops mode Getting Feedback from the layout the li-jsb. DCC Hobby Supply, DCC, Digitrax, TCS, NCE, SoundTraxx, QSI, Decoders, Zephyr, Super Chief, Blackstone Models, BLI BlueLine Lenz Li-USB-Ethernet Computer Interface Lenz23151 - Li-USB-Ethernet Computer Interface: The new Digital Plus Li-USB-Ethernet interface not only offers a USB interface but also an ethernet interface which facilitates the connection of the devise to a PC and/or a router.
I suppose that you could use multiple beat sheets, one for each subplot, or simply incorporate each subplot into the main outline, but that doesn't offer the same flexibility as the 7-point system.
To get around this, I created my initial outline using the 7-point method and then expanded it with the beat sheet (the process of which I will discuss in another post), which gave me the best of both worlds, the subplot layering and the word count.
The Goodies
As part of my experimentation with the BS2, I updated the existing template with two additional columns.
The first, 7-Point Plot Arc, is a summary of each stage of your initial outline (completed using the 7-point plot system). The second, Words in Beat, is the number of words in each of the fifteen beats, which is handy for such things as adding targets word counts to chapters and scenes in Scrivener.
- Blake Synder's Beat Sheet: the 7-point system redux (Numbers | Excel)
About the same time I revisted the BS2, Jami Gold posted an excellent article about using beat sheets with Scrivener. What I liked most about the article was the idea of using the target word count for individual chapters and scenes to lay out the beats.
I don't know about you, but when it comes to word counts, I find big numbers like 100k pretty intimidating. One of the beauties of the beat sheet is that it breaks down these numbers into manageable chunks. For a 100k-word novel, however, some of those chunks are still 25k words, so I took the idea one step further, with Scrivener.
Before we get started
I'm assuming that you have used, or are at least familiar with, beat sheets and how they work. If you're not, this post may be a little confusing and I recommend reading Jami Gold's Beat Sheets 101 post, or Blake Snyder's book Save the Cat.
If you're familiar with beat sheets but aren't sure what your word count should be, trying aiming for your genre's average. If you're writing an obscure sub-genre or a mashup, try googling 'average word count [your genre]'.
Example: average word count space opera
Breaking the beat sheet into chapters
For most, your chapters are going to be shorter than your beats, and using them to break up the larger chunks of the beat sheet is fairly straight-forward. When you set up a new project in Scrivener, instead of creating folders to reflect the individual beats (opening image, turning point, catalyst, etc), create as many chapters as you think will have in your final novel.
How do you decide how many chapters your finished novel might have? Good question. Easy answer. Find a few novels in your genre and count the number of chapters. Come up with an average and that's how many chapters you should create.
Example: For my space opera novel, I used Elizabeth Moon's Vatta's War series, which has roughly 25 chapters per book
After that, the word goal per chapter is even easier, just divide your total word goal by the number of chapters.
What's awesome about it
- The word count for each beat
Blake Snyder was famous for his 'beat sheet.' This was his original, funny, idiosyncratic (and very insightful) way of breaking down a story into its constituent elements. There are fifteen beats in the Blake Snyder beat sheet, starting with 'Opening Image' and continuing through 'Set-up,' 'Catalyst,' 'B Story,' 'Bad Guys.
What's not-so-awesome
- It's daunting, especially when your manuscript is half-written
- No capacity to outline subplots
The awesome
When I first came across Blake Synder's Beat Sheet (BS2), I was half-way through the manuscript for Hero and the word count for each beat made me to blanch. The idea of trying to shoehorn my (at that point in time) pantsed story into all of those little boxes (opening image, catalyst, black moment) with their prescribed word counts, was more than my brain could take, but when I went back to the BS2, a new story in mind, they appeared as godsends.
I don't know about you, but I often find myself wondering how long the different stages of my plot (setup, act II, etc) should be. The BS2 solves that issue by calculating when a stage should start and end, based on your overall word count. Say you want to write a 100,000-word novel (about 400 pages), then your setup should be around 9,000 words long and the first half of your second act 27,500.
It also has the side-benefit of breaking your manuscript into manageable chunks; instead of stressing about only having 13,000 words done, you can celebrate having written Turning Point 1.
The not-so-awesome
If you've come across a beat sheet template and haven't read Blake Snyder's book, Save the Cat, it can be daunting. The descriptions of the beats included in the template don't fully adequately what's meant to happen in each beat, and finding more information on the internet is practially impossible (or else I wasn't looking in the right places).
In the end, I bought Save the Cat, and it was worth every one of the ten dollars I spent on it.
What I love most about the 7-point plot system, and which BS2 doesn't do at all, is the ability to outline subplots alongside the main plot and then layer them to see how they interact.
LENZ LI-USB DRIVER FOR MAC - Paco Canada also provides two methods for adding feedback to non-feedback equipped systems. The BlackBox is a standalone decoder programmer. This feedback comes through the use of S88 compatible feedback modules. This includes the LI-Server, which may be running in the background. The LH is the command station used. Lenz li-usb Elite can be used for operating equipment on a layout oenz trains and throwing switches and for programming from JMRI. Operating Locomotives and Turnouts on the layout Programming decoders on a programming track or in ops mode Getting Feedback from the layout the li-jsb. DCC Hobby Supply, DCC, Digitrax, TCS, NCE, SoundTraxx, QSI, Decoders, Zephyr, Super Chief, Blackstone Models, BLI BlueLine Lenz Li-USB-Ethernet Computer Interface Lenz23151 - Li-USB-Ethernet Computer Interface: The new Digital Plus Li-USB-Ethernet interface not only offers a USB interface but also an ethernet interface which facilitates the connection of the devise to a PC and/or a router.
I suppose that you could use multiple beat sheets, one for each subplot, or simply incorporate each subplot into the main outline, but that doesn't offer the same flexibility as the 7-point system.
To get around this, I created my initial outline using the 7-point method and then expanded it with the beat sheet (the process of which I will discuss in another post), which gave me the best of both worlds, the subplot layering and the word count.
The Goodies
As part of my experimentation with the BS2, I updated the existing template with two additional columns.
The first, 7-Point Plot Arc, is a summary of each stage of your initial outline (completed using the 7-point plot system). The second, Words in Beat, is the number of words in each of the fifteen beats, which is handy for such things as adding targets word counts to chapters and scenes in Scrivener.
- Blake Synder's Beat Sheet: the 7-point system redux (Numbers | Excel)
About the same time I revisted the BS2, Jami Gold posted an excellent article about using beat sheets with Scrivener. What I liked most about the article was the idea of using the target word count for individual chapters and scenes to lay out the beats.
I don't know about you, but when it comes to word counts, I find big numbers like 100k pretty intimidating. One of the beauties of the beat sheet is that it breaks down these numbers into manageable chunks. For a 100k-word novel, however, some of those chunks are still 25k words, so I took the idea one step further, with Scrivener.
Before we get started
I'm assuming that you have used, or are at least familiar with, beat sheets and how they work. If you're not, this post may be a little confusing and I recommend reading Jami Gold's Beat Sheets 101 post, or Blake Snyder's book Save the Cat.
If you're familiar with beat sheets but aren't sure what your word count should be, trying aiming for your genre's average. If you're writing an obscure sub-genre or a mashup, try googling 'average word count [your genre]'.
Example: average word count space opera
Breaking the beat sheet into chapters
For most, your chapters are going to be shorter than your beats, and using them to break up the larger chunks of the beat sheet is fairly straight-forward. When you set up a new project in Scrivener, instead of creating folders to reflect the individual beats (opening image, turning point, catalyst, etc), create as many chapters as you think will have in your final novel.
How do you decide how many chapters your finished novel might have? Good question. Easy answer. Find a few novels in your genre and count the number of chapters. Come up with an average and that's how many chapters you should create.
Example: For my space opera novel, I used Elizabeth Moon's Vatta's War series, which has roughly 25 chapters per book
After that, the word goal per chapter is even easier, just divide your total word goal by the number of chapters.
Example: In my case it was 100k words / 25 chapters = 4000 words per chapter.
It's important to remember that the chapters you're adding now, and their associated word targets, are approximations. Your story will be as long or a short as it needs to be and, in all likelihood, you'll add and delete chapters as writing progresses. Right now, they're just there to help you break your story into smaller, more manageable chunks.
TIP: Creating chapters with word targets, the easy way
By default, when you create a new document in Scrivener's Draft/Manuscript folder (where you'll do all of your writing), it creates a new file or Scene. You have to preform a few extra steps (or just remember the shortcut) to create folders, and then there are even more steps to assign a word target to each new folder.
Thankfully, there's an easier way, all you have to do is create a new default subdocument type. Here's how. Kodak esp office 2150 software for mac.
- Create a new folder in the Templates folder, name it ‘Chapter' or ‘Bob' or, really, whatever takes your fancy
- Switch the view to Outline (View -> Outline or cmd+3)
- Add the Target column to the outline (View -> Outliner Columns -> Target). If it's already in your Outline view, it will have a tick next to it
- Enter the word target per chapter in the Target column
- Select the Draft/Manuscript folder
- Change it's default subdocument type to the folder you just created in Templates (Documents -> Default New Subdocument Type -> [the folder you created]).
That's it! Now all you have to do is hit cmd+N to create as many chapters as you need.
Assigning chapters and scenes to beats
At this point, you'll note that the beats don't fit nicely into chapters; some, like Act II and Midpoint, don't even have word counts, while Setup overlaps with Opening Image and Theme Stated. The key here, is to be flexible and not get caught up in exact numbers.
If mapping out the beats seems a little daunting; using the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet: 7-point system redux template, try mapping out the stages (using the Stages column) first. Using labels, and the words per beat column, roughly map out the number of chapters in each stage by dividing the total word count for each stage by the number of words per chapter.
Example: Turning point 1 = 13,650 words / 4000 words per chapter = 3.4 chapters
For those awkward numbers with decimal points, try rounding the number up or down to the nearest whole number.
Example:
Turning point 1 (rounded to the nearest whole number) = 3 chapters
Act II Part 1 = 6.825 chapters = 7 chapters (when rounded)
For the next part, you will need to add scenes to your chapters.
Blake Snyder Beat Sheet Download
As you did with the Stages, go back through the beat sheet and divide the beats into chapters. Take a closer look at the screenshot above, and you will note that I haven't named my chapters after my beats, I've named the scenes within them instead.
Assigning your beats to scenes instead of chapters just makes the whole process easier. For one, some beats, such as Opening Image at 1000 words, are shorter than a chapter, and others, like Theme Stated, don't have a word count at all (I gave them a default target of 1000 words). The other, longer beats (Debate, B-Story) can be slotted in around these and between chapters and you can vary the word goal of each, as needed.
Blake Snyder Beat Sheet Pdf
Example:
- Chapter 12
- Fun & Games (4000 words)
- Chapter 13
- Fun & Games (3000 words)
- Midpoint (1000 words)
- Chapter 14
- Bad Guys Close In (4000 words)
Save The Cat Beat Sheet Examples
You'll need to do some more creative thinking, and a little massaging of scenes and chapters, to get the beat sheet to fit just right, but that's part of the fun.
What's next?
That all depends on you. If you're feeling plannery, you can try outlining your chapters and scenes, but if you're feeling more panster-ish, dive right on in and start writing that 100k-word sucker.
