: Re: How to construct a beat to make an effective treatment for the purposes of revision & group revisions of a Novel? Why this Question is Being asked In a previous question it was suggested that

@Rivera824

Vote Up Vote Down

I don't need the bounty so will answer to get the ball rolling.

A good answer to this question will provide actionable steps to
create useful beats and a useful treatment for the revision
process; it will define the components to assist in the
actionable desired end result result; and it will be clear how the
construction and use of this document will lead to a better novel.
An unhelpful answer would simply list examples or one of the myriad
definitions without talking about why this is important and how its
helpful in the revision process.

I'm going to assume that by 'better novel' you're looking for something people will want to read. Something that is a page turner, and maybe has commercial success. (IOW, not something successful because you feel at the end of the process that you have left an obscure legacy for your children or some such.)

Create a spreadsheet.
Dissect your work into scenes and sequels using definitions found online.
-> If they don't alternate, or they don't all fit, make a note. You might rework these bits or you might not, depending how formulaic you want to sound.
Dissect each scene or sequel into it's three beats: Goal conflict disaster, Reaction Dilemma Decision.
-> So far, in my 32 chapter project, I've identified about 50 scene-sequel pairs. That's going to be about 300 beats.
For each beat, rate it's emotional impact on a scale of 1 - 10.

Perhaps your early hooks have emotional energy, perhaps your climax too. What does the bulk of your project look like?

Plot it out. In my case, so far, I have 600 beats. X axis. I have a few chapters in the middle that sag. They'd get scores of 0 or 1 on my 1-10 scale. Y axis.
Areas that sag, add conflict. There are pages online to help. Weave in a subplot, bring characters together that you've kept apart, introduce secrets that characters are keeping (this is huge).
When your graphed data looks generally like rising tension through the novel to climax and denouement, set it aside for a few days, then read for flow, then give to betas.

Disclaimer: I'm an egg.

(0)

Login to post a comment!