In Part One of our article series, we introduced “Save the Cat” (STC) Acts as a guide to help you understand the purpose of each part of your story. Each act is broken down into “beats”—essential story parts. It’s entirely up to you how detailed you plan out each beat prior to writing, making STC completely customizable. As a rebel myself, I thoroughly enjoy things I can make entirely my own—and I suspect many of you feel the same too.
The Transformation Machine
Consider your hero’s transformation before outlining, and especially before you write. Knowing the hero’s wound (flaw or problem), their want (what they think will solve their problem or make them feel better), and their need (what you as the creator of their story know they truly need) will inform how your hero behaves at each beat. The Transformation Machine is about creating resonance between your reader and your hero by making the hero relatable. The more your readers can see themselves in the hero’s problem or flaw, the more readers will want to read about them.
Enough chatting. Let’s get plotting!
Thesis—or the World as It Currently Is
Where we show our readers who the main character is, what’s lacking in the character’s life, and create that resonant bond between the reader and the hero.
You need to establish a resonant connection to deliver on your story’s promises. The first three beats of Act 1—Opening Image, Theme, and Setup—are particularly designed to do just that.
Beat 1: Opening Image
Beat 1 is a snapshot of the hero’s current life. You’ve heard the advice to start with action. A conflict reveals what’s wrong in their life, which captures the reader’s attention and builds resonant bonds. However, avoid so much action that the hero’s plight is lost beneath the action.
Pro Tip: Imagine the ending and make your beginning the mirror opposite. If it ends with a happily ever after, then start the story with a breakup or with a character who can’t get a date.
Plantser Tip: If you know the beginning and ending, you can happily draft knowing you’re heading in the right direction.
Beat 2: Theme
Beat 2 is “scheduled” for the 5% mark in a novel, but it’s very flexible. I like it during the first 10% of a book because it sets the tone for the character arc, but you can place it wherever makes sense to you—even at the beginning of Act 2. Later than that, however, and it loses its power.
Imagine this beat as a conversation with your mom in which she says something wise and meaningful, but you brush it off because “she doesn’t understand.” The thing about moms, though, is that they usually do understand. You can substitute any kind of mentor/authority figure here. Deliver this advice or warning any way you see fit—a prayer, a song, a poem, an old wives’ tale. However it’s delivered, the hero needs to reject it, creating that resistance humans are so familiar with. By the end of the book, they’ll embrace the theme and grow—and perhaps inspire some positive change in your reader as well.
Pro Tip: The theme is directly related to your character’s need. Knowing this need will help you craft the best rewards and punishments for your hero.
Beat 3: Setup
Beat 3 encapsulates up to 10% of the novel. Its purpose is to introduce the hero, the world, and hint at what’s wrong with the hero’s life. It reveals how the hero behaves at home, at work, and at play, which increases your opportunities to create resonance with your readers.
Pro Tip: Don’t get hung up on “at home, at work, at play.” What’s important is to show how the hero’s problem affects their family relationships, their success at work (or school), and their friendships.
Failing to establish these early beats is like trying to change a light bulb while standing on a cardboard box. You’re more likely to crash through the box than brighten your room.
-Ali Cross
Examples of the Beats
In the opening scenes of The Hunger Games, Katniss struggles to do all the things under the worst circumstances. Poverty, oppression, and hopelessness are familiar conditions everyone fears. No wonder the book was so universally loved.
In The Lion King, young Simba wants his father to teach him how to be a leader and a warrior, but his father never has time—another relatable problem. None of us have ever been lion cubs, but we’ve all experienced the sting of an absent or distracted parent.
As we move into Beat 4, Catalyst, and Beat 5, Debate, we’ll be grateful we put hard work into those first three beats. I promise it’ll be worth it, whether you’re a Plotter or Pantser or something in between.
See you next time as we explore “Fireballs, House Fires, and Other Disasters That Move You”—otherwise known as Catalyst, Debate, and Break into Act 2.
Ali Cross
Find Ali at her website or @thealicross online.
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