: Re: Doubt about the difference between a "Beat" and a "Event" My main source of research about storytelling/screenwriting/how-to-write-a-book manual is [1]. But, the definition of "beat" given by [1]

@Debbie451

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I have never heard of McKee's definition of "beat." I have only heard of and use the filmmaking definition.

I have always viewed Event as part of your overall plot structure, and Beat as a granular part of how you construct a smaller Scene within a chapter. Events are high and low points in your plot, which you see from a larger perspective. Events are considered in the context of Ordinary World, First Threshold, First Setback, Acts I to V, Rising and Falling Action, Climax, Epilogue, and so on — the big milestones, the skeleton of your story. They are narrative tools.

Beats, scenes, chapters, parts, etc. are the bricks you use to build the tale on the page. They are storytelling tools.

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