You've probably heard this term thrown around a lot, but your story needs to follow the beats. Beats are what keep the audience invested. They are the emotional backbone of the story. The spine that holds everything upright. Beats are so important to everything you're doing as a storyteller. They help you organize your thoughts and emotions when it comes to writing. Today I want to go over the idea of beats and how they apply to your screenwriting. Let's get started. Story Beat Definition First up, I think it's best we get a strict definition of the term we will explore for this post. Story beats are points of action that occur in a basic story. When you connect the individual action points, they build up to a movie or TV idea. They are the pieces to a puzzle. Each of these moments builds on the next, because if X happens, then Y happens, and because Y happens, Z happens...and so on. We even made an entire beat sheet so you can brainstorm your next writing assignment. The Beat Sheet A beat sheet is a list of all the beats that happen within your idea. It should prompt you to come up with your own beats that lie in order and help you construct a complete story. Beats are a plotting device, but they can also be a character development device too. When a beat happens, you want to note what it makes characters feel and how it...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Friday, 6 September