: 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

Although this may not seem like a direct answer to the question as asked, I hope it will be useful to you.

In plays, and television, a beat is not a unit of plot. It is used to mark a significant moment. The action (and sound) is frozen for a 'beat' to indicate an important event. In television and movies this technique tends to be used more for comedy than serious drama, but it can be used quite a lot in theatre.

When directing a play, I (and as far as I know other) directors, work out what the key moments are. One approach to directing is to 'organise' the freeze frames for these moments and then work all the other action so that it ends up at these freeze frames. These can be, though don't have to be, marked with a pause, a beat. The audience is meant to focus on particular points and afford them significance.

If you tranfer this to writing a novel, you have to work out what the key moments are. What are the moments that would be frozen for the audience to see the significance of? When you strip your story down, what is it you want your reader to remember? What lines of dialogue do you want implanted in a reader's memory? Not everything is vitally important in a story (though if it isn't important at all, why not cut it out?). What is most significant? Think back to good novels you have read: some events stick out. What do you want to stick out?

There isn't a formula for writing beats. You have to create the rhythm and structure of your story.

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: 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

More posts by @Eichhorn147

: Where's the middle ground between genre conventions and originality? I've long been interested in writing a fantasy novel. Over the countless iterations I've gone through, one thing has remained

: Instead of "How are you?", would it be possible to translate it to "Is everything OK?", "Is anything wrong?", "Is everything alright in there?" instead? Or is that what you meant by "we have

: CREDIT: Doctoral student helping his mentor/professor write a book Excited for an opportunity to help a mentor and professor complete the writing of his non-fiction poli-sci themed book by providing

: Working with hints/clues - Show vs Tell vs Nothing -ish This is about the hints that the readers should notice as the story progresses - and should definitely notice upon re-read. First off,

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