Putting some flesh on those bones

Are you still with me? Got your Beat Sheet ready? Now that you’ve sketched out the main arc of the story, It’s time to dive in and make a scene by scene outline. This is where that prioritized list and Beat Sheet get translated into your story. Think of the Beat Sheet as high level telling what will happen in your book. Now, it’s time to get to showing.

Some of those story beats make it easy. Your opening image is one scene. As the saying goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” And that opening scene is your first impression. So, you want to make it a good one. The Catalyst is another one that can usually be covered in one scene. Other story beats allow for more scenes. Setup, Debate, Fun and Games…these can and should take multiple scenes. In chapter two of Save the Cat Writes a Novel there is a break down of the Beat Sheet that includes which percentage of you story should be covered by each beat.

If you want more room than an index card offers to work out your scene, here is a worksheet to help. Click here for .pdf

In putting together your Beat Sheet, you hopefully already started thinking about scenes for each of these beats that will move the story along. This is where those story physics that I mentioned before come into play. What needs to happen in each scene in order to propel your characters to the next? What should happen to make your main character choose to move from Point A to Point B? Are those events believable? Are those choices in character for them? Some things you should be thinking of as you put these scenes together.

Because these scenes sometimes move around in order, I like to use cards, or Post-It Notes to lay them out. I color code these cards according to the main plot line that is addressed in that scene. That doesn’t mean that a scene can only move one of those plot lines forward. It’s great when a scene can move multiple lines forward, but there will usually be one more than others so I go with the primary one. I pull up my beat sheet on my screen and walk through it writing a card for each scene that I think is needed to accomplish each beat. I know that I could just type the cards into Scrivener, and I will eventually, but as with brainstorming, I like to be on my feet for this part.

Sometimes I have helpers when plotting.

According to the Save the Cat structure, we are looking for three acts (although Act 2 is divided). I lay the cards out in columns for each act; Act 1, Act 2A, Act 2B. Act 3. Once again getting that bird’s eye view of my outline. This is the time to look for plot holes, or gaps in the plot lines. Now I can add scenes or notes to cards where needed and rearrange cards if I want to. I usually do a few passes at this, layering in the different plot lines with each pass.

This is where that color coding comes in handy. If you see a section where there is a color missing, you might want to add a scene for that plot line. If you read Save the Cat, this is where you want to make sure your B story is appearing in each act. If you’re writing a series like me, you want to make sure that the plot for this book is moving forward, but also that the larger series arc is moving forward too. It may move at a slower pace, but it should be included periodically to remind readers of the larger plot.

Once the cards are laid out, you’ll want to store them in order. If you’re using the cards that I linked above, They come with rings that can be used to bind them together. You can also use a box, or like in this video, a card binder. I like the binder because I can take it with me when I work outside the house, and I can flip through it to get that bird’s eye view easily.

I found this video particularly helpful. Author, Shaunta Grimes shows off her portable plot book. Links are included in the description for the binder she’s using.

Once I have my cards in order, I put that outline into Scrivener. I don’t necessarily divide it into chapters yet. That can wait until I’m done writing. However I do create a folder in my outline for each Act and each of the beats in that act. Then I use the Corkboard view to recreate my index cards in the computer, and use the labels to match the color coding on my cards. I realize that this might seem like double work, but every time I retype the scenes and beats of my outline, the story is evolving. I’m layering in details and building ideas for my scenes and getting into the mindset of the characters. All of this is building the right frame of mind for me to get writing.

I hope these posts have helped some of you think more about the pre-writing process. If you have trouble getting started or start, but have trouble finishing, I hope that some of these techniques can help you keep your project moving.