In Honor of Blake Snyder:

Master of the Beat Sheet by Marilyn Brant

It's been over a year, but I still can't believe we lost the genius mind of Blake Snyder. It was far too soon... But even though he died so young, I personally owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude when it comes to novel-writing structure. I love reading about writing craft and have tons of reference books on the subject. But, until I came upon his Save the Cat! series (particularly Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies), I didn't have an outlining system for writing fiction that I trusted.

Blake's 15-point "Beat Sheet"? THAT I trust. And while I still have to do a lot of work in between each of those points (Friday Mornings at Nine took me a full 10 months of writing, even after I used the Beat Sheet...), I feel confident I won't go too far off track if I take time to address every step included on his sheet.

So, for those not familiar with it, you're asking how does it work, right? Well, Blake took a look at TONS of successful films and analyzed their structure. From that, he figured out the key stages of most movies/screenplays, named them (i.e., "Opening Image," "Theme Stated," etc.) and then showed the approximate page number where that stage would show up in a typical 110-page screenplay. An explanation of each of the 15 points is here in this Suite 101 interview with Blake, And on his website, there's a place for "tools" with excellent downloads, including a Beat Sheet you can use: http://www.blakesnyder.com/tools/.


What I decided to do, though, was to look up in one of Blake's books 2 movies that were as different as I could imagine and compare them structurally to show these stages in action. The films I chose were one of my all-time favorites in romantic comedy -- When Harry Met Sally -- and the popular Bruce Willis thriller -- Die Hard! In my opinion, both of these are excellent, well-structured stories. Even though they were written as screenplays instead of novels, I still learned a whole lot that was -- for me -- directly applicable to writing a book. At one point, I even went so far as to multiply the page numbers by 3 so I'd get a sense of where each stage would fall in a 330-page/100K-word novel ( i.e., If the "Catalyst" lands on page 12 of a screenplay, it should come in at approximately page 36 of my book).

Taking a look at just this first beat of the Beat Sheet -- the Opening Image -- it's page #1 of the script and the first scene of the film. In When Harry Met Sally, actors pretending to be "real" couples share with the camera how they met. Meanwhile, in Die Hard, a NYC cop is being advised by his seatmate on "how to survive traveling" as their airplane lands in LA. You can see how these well-known movies progress though every one of Blake's beats, right down to the "Final Image." Cool, huh?!

1. Opening Image (1): "Real" couples talking about how they met/A plane lands at LAX, and NYC gun-carrying cop Bruce Willis is being advised by a businessman onboard "how to survive traveling"

2. Theme Stated (5): Impossible for a man and woman to be friends/"Survival" is the theme and Bruce’s mission

3. Set-Up (1-10): We meet Harry and Sally--they’re totally different types--but they have to drive from Chicago to NYC together/The boss at Nakatomi Plaza wishes his employees a Merry Christmas, including Bonnie Bedelia’s character, who is on the verge of divorce from Bruce; Bruce explains to limo driver that his wife had a good job that turned into a great career, but now they’re unhappily bicoastal; Bruce and Bonnie get into a fight and a mystery truck arrives at the Plaza

4. Catalyst (12): They part in NYC saying "have a nice life"/A dozen robbers posing as terrorists lock down the building and crash the party

5. Debate (12-25): 5 years later, Harry sees Sally kissing boyfriend goodbye at airport and Harry is engaged to be married--they’re still REALLY different and decide they’re not at all right for each other/Alerted to the commotion, Bruce grabs his gun and begins to assess the situation--he is spotted by the bad guys

6. Break into Two (25): 5 years later, Harry is getting divorced and Sally has broken up with her boyfriend, they decide to try to become friends/Bruce is the "lone defender of the fort"--he tries to get the cops to help by pulling the fire alarm (they think it’s a hoax), but he soon realizes he’ll have to stop the bad guys alone

7. B Story (30): Harry and Sally’s 2 friends and their eventual love story--the friends talk about the film’s theme/An LAPD Sergeant arrives to check on fire alarm and gets involved--finally cops are on the way

8. Fun and Games (30-55): Harry and Sally hang out as friends--shopping, eating in the deli, talking, finding solace in each other’s company/Bruce is fighting bad guys, being chased, rolling down stairs, breaking necks, etc.

9. Midpoint (55): A New Year’s Eve party when they realize they’re falling for each other--they kiss as friends and try to set the other person up with their best buds/Using a bad guy’s walkie-talkie, Bruce contacts head baddie, who gets worried and asked his thieving crew how much longer it’ll take them to crack the safe

10. Bad Guys Close In (55-75): While out with Sally, Harry sees his ex-wife out with her new boyfriend, realizes his dating life is terrible and takes his anger out on Sally and their friends/Pressure builds with this new time clock; Bruce has an ally in the Sergeant, but Sergeant’s boss thinks Bruce is one of the bad guys; FBI arrives

11. All Is Lost (75): When Sally calls Harry because she finds out her ex is getting married, they make a mistake and fall into bed together--it’s the "death" of their friendship/Bad guy leader (pretending to be a civilian) and Bruce bump into each other, and bad guy learns Bruce is barefoot (a weakness)--tells baddies to shoot out the glass--bad guys get the detonators back

12. Dark Night of the Soul (75-85): Despite the joy of confessing their deed to their 2 friends (who are now a couple), Sally and Harry realize their error/Bruce laments he’s done all he can; Sergeant reveals via walkie-talkie that he made past mistakes too

13. Break into Three (85): They both decide to tell the other they made a mistake, hoping it’ll save their friendship/Bad guys open vault and get ready to escape, but when Bonnie is exposed as Bruce’s wife, she’s taken as a hostage; Bruce must save her

14. Finale (85-110): The A and B stories cross as Harry and Sally attend the wedding of their friends and they fight, but on this New Year’s Eve Harry races through NYC to tell Sally he loves her and they kiss/Bruce jumps into action to rescue hostages and rescue his wife, even without the help of the cops; he outsmarts and kills the bad guy then kisses his wife

15. Final Image (110): Harry and Sally finally tell the story of how they met/Bruce meets and hugs the Sergeant (who, in killing the final bad guy, is helped to get over his past mistake); Bruce takes his wife home


Hope some of you will find this helpful as you do your own novel plotting ;). Many thanks to Tina and the wonderful Seekers for inviting me visit today! Wishing you all a great week!

~Marilyn


Bio:
Marilyn Brant's debut novel, According to Jane, won the Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart® Award, a Single Titles' Reviewers' Choice Award and the Booksellers' Best Award for best single-title/mainstream novel. Her new novel, Friday Mornings at Nine, is a featured alternate selection in October 2010 for both the Doubleday Book Club and the Book-of-the-Month Club 2. She lives with her family in Chicago and is currently writing her third women's fiction book, due out in fall 2011, and trying to eat foods other than chocolate all day. Readers can visit her at www.marilynbrant.com.


Today Marilyn is giving away TWO ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies) of Friday Mornings at Nine to two Seekerville visitors who post a comment. Winners announced in the Weekend Edition.

Seekerville Welcomes Marilyn Brant

-->I’m so excited to be visiting Seekerville today! Many thanks to Tina for inviting me and to all the Seekers for being such gracious hosts.
When Tina and I were first discussing what the topic of this post should be, she suggested I write about women’s fiction, also known in RWA circles as “mainstream novels with strong romantic elements.” It’s a genre I hold close to my heart since this was the Golden Heart category in which I entered my debut novel during the year Tina and I were GH finalists together. (Yay, ‘007s!) Also, it can be a bit tricky to define. So, I jumped at the chance to talk about it and share my perspective as a writer (and a former reviewer) of both women’s fiction and contemporary romance.

Something to know about me: I love romance on its own and romance mixed with other genres (romantic suspense, paranormal, inspirational, etc.), and I especially love happy endings. In a romance novel, readers can count on all the hero and heroine getting together in the end. They can be sure that lots of narrative time will be devoted to the development of the romantic relationship and, if other genres play a part in the story, how the relationship is impacted by secondary characters and additional storylines. Women’s fiction frequently taps into all of these, too, but, in my opinion, there’s a crucial difference: the focus of the story.

While a romance needs to chronicle the relationship and character development of the main couple, women’s fiction is all about the woman’s journey. It’s HER story—with or without a man. It may feature one woman or a small group of them, but the big important question is not whether she (or her friends) will end up with some love interest, it’s whether she’ll be able to transcend whatever issues she’s been battling in her life to get to a slightly (or significantly) better place at the end of the book. A place that, at the story’s beginning, seemed way out of reach.

Often a romantic partner plays a major role in helping the women’s fiction heroine along on her journey but, just because he’s involved and has been helpful, the heroine is not required by any genre conventions to end up with him. In fact, sometimes the heroine’s journey revolves around the end of her marriage or her struggle with a life-threatening medical diagnosis or the ever-changing (yet often ever-the-same) interpersonal dynamics of siblings or parents or children. The story’s tone can be delightful and upbeat, poignant and lyrical or thought-provoking and heartbreaking. Unlike the assurance readers get with romance that—no matter how painful the struggles of the characters may be, they’ll figure out a way for love to conquer all—women’s fiction offers no such guarantee.

BUT, it does offer an opportunity for the reader to jump aboard for a twisty ride. To see and explore the world through the lens of a typically complex female character. And, ideally, to grow with her as she ventures into an experience that will ultimately change her in a substantial way.

That’s certainly the case with my main character, Ellie, in my debut novel According to Jane. Even with the ghost of author Jane Austen giving Ellie the benefit of her wisdom regarding dating and relationships, it still takes my heroine many years and scores of mistakes before she’s able to acknowledge the need to listen to her own voice and be responsible for her own actions. Part of why I needed to write this book as a women’s fiction project rather than as a romance was because Ellie weaves in an out of a number of relationships (not just one) during her 20-year, Odyssey-like romantic journey. The original tagline for the book was “A novel about Pride, Prejudice and the Pursuit of the Perfect Guy,” a nod not only to Austen’s P&P, but to the impact of her own (and Jane’s) “pride” and “prejudice” as Ellie searches for her idealized relationship with frequently less-than-ideal results.

But readers and critique partners have asked, “Why isn’t this book a romance? There’s such a huge focus on relationships? And the ending is really optimistic…” Right. And, as I said, I love happy endings. The point of this story, however, is not who Ellie ends up with; it’s that she needed a journey, took it and made changes in her life that had nothing to do with any man. No matter how attractive. The narrative focus remained firmly on her voyage of self discovery.

For other writers wondering if their story’s premise might be women’s fiction, consider the path of your main character. Was the narrative directed at her growth and change? Do we see the world predominantly through her eyes? At the end of the book, whether she’s involved in a relationship or not, is she in a better place (mentally, socially, spiritual, etc.) than at the start or, at the very least, has she learned something significant that she’ll carry forward with her? If so, chances are, you’ve written a women’s fiction tale. And chances are even higher that it’s one I’d be thrilled to pick up at a bookstore and take home with me to enjoy!

Side Note: Here are 2009 GH entry stats:
Contemporary Series Romance: 103
Contemporary Series: Suspense/Adventure: 29
Contemporary Single Title Romance: 111
Historical Romance: 107
Inspirational Romance: 40
Novel with Strong Romantic Elements: 152
Paranormal Romance: 141
Regency Historical Romance: 62
Romantic Suspense: 110
Young Adult Romance: 46
TOTAL ENTRIES: 901
Perhaps because there is a lot of storytelling leeway within the Strong Romantic Elements category, it was (at least for the 2009 competition) the largest of the GH categories. Interesting to see all the data in one spot, eh?



Marilyn Brant has been a classroom teacher, a library staff member, a freelance writer and a national book reviewer for Romantic Times. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and son, surrounded by towers of books that often threaten to topple over and crush her. A proud member of the Jane Austen Society of North America, Marilyn’s debut novel, According to Jane, won RWA’s prestigious Golden Heart® Award. Readers can visit her at www.marilynbrant.com. This month you can also find Marilyn in the August PRO spects, the newsletter of the RWA PRO community. Look for her article, A Moment with Janet Evanovich. You can also find her in the October 2009 issue of Romantic Times, where she discusses the difference--emotionally and logically--between being the reviewer vs. the person whose book was being reviewed


Today Marilyn is giving away an arc of According To Jane, her October release from Kensington Publishing, to one of our Seekerville visitors. If you would like to be in the drawing you must put your email address in your post and/or tell us you want to be in the drawing. Drawing is tonight at 8pm MST.