Plot & Structure

Once you have created your One-Sentence Summary  and One-Pager , it’s time to write your “Beat Sheet.”

What is a “Beat Sheet”? It’s a summary of the 60 or so scenes that make up an average length (say 75,000-word) novel. Since you have 4 sections to your novel (see your One-Pager), that might be about 15 scenes per section.

However, it’s more likely that Section 1 of the novel you’re writing (the Opening) requires fewer than 15 scenes – perhaps only 10 or so. Section 4 (the Resolution) also might require fewer than 15 scenes; let’s apportion 12 to Section 4. That leaves 38 scenes to be divvied up between Sections 2 and 3 (the two halves of the book’s Middle) – say 19 scenes each.

Note: You are free to determine a shorter or longer word count for your novel.* On average, novels range from 60,000 to 125,000 words. You would adjust the number of scenes accordingly. You also are free, no matter what the word count, to divvy up the number of scenes in each of the Sections to your liking.

So let’s get back to writing that Beat Sheet.

To create a Beat Sheet for your pageturner, grab your novel’s One-Pager. Now is the time to flesh out how the action in Sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 of your novel actually play out.

– In Section One, your novel’s opening section, write one or two sentences each for the 10 scenes that launch your novel. (One sentence is better.) These 10 scenes must accomplish the following: They show your hero’s current situation. They show what your hero wants most. They show what’s holding your hero from going after what he wants most. Also, one scene will show the incident that forces your hero to try to achieve his goal.

NOTE: It’s handy to use bullet-point format to create your Beat Sheet.

– In Section Two, the first half of your novel’s middle section, write 19 one- or two-sentence descriptions scenes that: show how your hero resourcefully struggles against the antagonistic force that is keeping him from what he is trying to achieve; show how your hero meets with continued frustration despite scoring minor victories; show how he meets with resistance, resistance, resistance in trying to achieve his key goal.

– In Section Three, the second half of your novel’s middle section, write 19 one- or two-sentence descriptions of 19 scenes that show how: 1) something happens that points the hero in the direction of resolving the conflict, 2) that show how  your hero – now smarter and tougher because of all he’s learned on his journey so far – goes after the antagonist more ably and forcefully – but only to meet with Defeat yet again, 3) show the hero enduring a Black Moment when all seems lost and the hero has, apparently, run out of options.

– In Section  Four, the resolution of your novel, write 12 one- or two-sentence descriptions of scenes that show how, 1) things, yes, get even worse for the hero, 2) show how the hero has an Epiphany – how he brings together all he has learned, all his growth, all his capacity to act resourcefully, 3) show him making one last ditch effort, 4) show him in his Showdown with the antagonist – the Climactic Battle, and 5) show how he loses or (hopefully) wins!

Do all of the above and you have your Beat Sheet, a helpful navigation guide to assist you in writing your novel. A Beat Sheet can be 3 to 10 pages long. One really useful aspect of the Beat Sheet is that it gives you a “bird’s eye view” of the action of your novel. It allows you to “re-route” your story for maximum effectiveness early in the game – before you begin writing.

* Some publishers have specific requirements, especially publishers of genre fiction. If you hope to write for a specific imprint, take the time to research any requirements.

Copyright, 2012 – Jessica Hatchigan. All rights reserved.

When newbie writers first feel the calling of The Craft, they often believe novels stream from keyboards in bursts of inspiration.

Yes, they do. But a modern novel is 60,000-plus word-long creation. Somewhere along the line, those inspired thoughts, words and phrases need to be analyzed and structured. It is the job of the novelist to impose that structure. This can be a challenge.

Many novelists who rely on inspiration alone get lost in the woods, fail to complete work they started, or need to do massive rewrites, wasting time and effort.

The good news is, you can do impose structure on your novel before you begin the actual work of writing it.

Here’s how:

How to Write a Novel: Step 2 – Create a One-Pager

– Start with a single sheet of paper.

– Put your working title at the top of the page.

– Divide the paper into four sections.

– In Section One: This is your novel’s opening section. Describe your hero’s current situation. Describe what your hero wants most. Describe what’s holding your hero from going after what he wants most. Describe the incident that forces your hero to try to achieve his goal.

– In Section Two: This is the first half of your novel’s middle section. Here, describe how your hero resourcefully struggles against the antagonistic force that is keeping him from what he is trying to achieve. Remember: Your hero must meet with continued frustration here. In other words, he may score minor victories in Section Two, but he should not achieve his key goal (or the story tension dissipates). He meets with resistance, resistance, resistance.

– In Section Three: This is the second half of your novel’s middle section. It begins with the Midpoint of the novel. To avoid a common blight in novels – saggy (i.e., boring, plodding, tension-less) middles – this section should start with a “Shift.” Jot down how – at this Midpoint, Something happens that points the hero in the direction of resolving the conflict. As noted, we’ll call this something a Shift.* After the Shift, describe how  your hero – now smarter and tougher because of all he’s learned on his journey so far – goes after the antagonist more ably and forcefully – but only to meet with Defeat yet again. Section Three – in a well-plotted novel – needs to end with a Black Moment when all seems lost and the hero has, apparently, run out of options. Ask yourself: “In terms of this story world, what’s the worst thing that could happen to my hero?” That’s how Section Three should end.

– In Section  Four: In two or three sentences describe how things, yes, get even worse for the hero. Then, how the hero has an Epiphany – how he brings together all he has learned, all his growth, all his capacity to act resourcefully; how he arrives at a way to make one last ditch effort; how he has a Showdown with the antagonist – the Climactic Battle, and how he loses or (hopefully) wins! 

Thinking through all of the above and fitting it on one page isn’t easy. But if you take the time to do it, you’ll have a road map that will speed your journey to the final sentence of that successful final draft.

* Examples: In Robin Cook’s first novel, Coma, a doctor who is imperiled after she discovers illegal organ trading in her hospital realizes that the hospital’s directors (the people she hoped would help her) are involved, so she has to find an alternate way to escape the bad guys and stop the baddies. In the movie Bridget Jones’s Diary, Bridget wants to find true love but discovers her boss, with whom she has been carrying on an affair, has been cheating on her; she quits her job and resolves to change her life for the better.

Planning to begin a novel? Super!

Here are the questions you should ask yourself as you start:

– Who is my hero/heroine? (Man? Woman? How old? Occupation? What one single adjective would best describe him/her? (Examples: friendly reporter, arrogant politician, worried teacher, loud chef, etc.)

– What does my hero/heroine want more than anything else?

– What is stopping my hero/heroine from achieving his/her goal?

Write one or two sentences describing the concept for your novel. Incorporate the answers to the above questions.

Examples:

– A skilled archer saves her younger sister’s life by taking her place in deadly games of combat; she must then fight others to the death to survive. (Hunger Games)

– A resistance fighter seeks letters of transit held by an angry former lover because the letters will enable her freedom fighter husband to escape the Gestapo and defeat the Nazi regime. (Casablanca)

– A wealthy society girl seeks to escape a loveless engagement to a cad, and with the help of her lover finds a way to escape when the ocean liner on which she is traveling collides with an iceberg. (Titanic)

– A rat who wants to become a master chef must overcome people’s revulsion against rats, his family’s discouragement, restaurant inspectors, and a snooty food critic to achieve his dream. (Ratatouille)
Tips:

– Try to create a one- or two-sentence synopsis that will intrigue an agent, editor or reader. This is more difficult than it sounds – but very important. This short synopsis becomes a key marketing tool once your book is written and you seek representation, publication, and – most important of all – readers!

– Be original. Be wild, inventive, and even extreme as you shape your novel’s concept. You can always scale back if you need to. People seldom err when they push the boundaries of creativity but they do err when they remain in safe, all too well-known, yawn-inviting territory. Banish the bland. Go for innovation and freshness. Tantalize!