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Fiction Writing Made Easy

#50: Save the Cat! The Ending Beats

Fiction Writing Made Easy

Savannah Gilbo

Education, Fiction, Writing Tips, Arts, Bestseller, Writing, How To, Author, Writing Community, Books, Novel, How To Write Fiction, Writing Fiction, Writer, How To Write A Book

4.9 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 8 September 2021

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the beats that make up the end of a story, or the final section of Blake Snyder's Save the Cat! (STC!) beat sheet so that you can efficiently outline (or write) your novel. Here's a preview of what's included:

[01:45] A recap of the last three episodes (episodes #47, #48, and #49)/
[03:15] The average novel is about 80k words, and this section (the end) is about 20k of them. If you write 1,500-word scenes, you're looking at about 14 scenes here.
[03:40] Some of the beats are single scene beats while others are multi-scene beats. I will tell you which is which!
[04:20] Beat #14 is the five part finale! And this beat is all about resolving all the problems that were raised in act one and act two. It's also about showing how much your protagonist has changed since page one.
[05:45] Five Part Finale Part 1: Gathering the Team.
[07:00] Five Part Finale Part 2: Executing the Plan.
[08:35] Five Part Finale Part 3: High Tower Surprise.
[10:15] Five Part Finale Part 4: Dig Deep Down.
[12:15] Five Part Finale Part 5: Execution of the New Plan.
[15:00] Beat #15 is the final image. And this is a single scene beat that shows how much your protagonist has changed since the opening image.
[18:25] Key points and episode recap.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

And really, this is kind of that exciting moment in stories that readers have been waiting

0:03.9

for the whole time.

0:05.4

So the protagonist has seemingly come up on an impossible obstacle and they have nothing

0:10.4

left.

0:11.4

They have no hope, they have no plan, they have no backup, maybe even no tools or weapons.

0:16.3

But they still have something.

0:18.1

They have whatever they learned throughout the entire story.

0:21.5

So they're a different person now, a person who's overcome that flaw from Act 1.

0:26.9

So now it's time for them to really prove it.

0:29.1

It's time for them to take a leap of faith.

0:31.7

And this is typically the super memorable moment in a story where you really feel it on a

0:35.9

deeper level as a reader or a viewer.

0:39.0

Welcome to the Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast.

0:41.9

My name is Savannah Gilbo and I'm here to help you write a story that works.

0:45.9

I want to prove to you that writing a novel doesn't have to be overwhelming.

0:49.7

So each week I'll bring you a brand new episode with simple, actionable, and step-by-step

0:54.2

strategies that you can implement in your writing right away.

0:57.7

So whether you're brand new to writing or more of a seasoned author looking to improve

1:01.1

your craft, this podcast is for you.

1:03.5

So pick up a pen and let's get started.

1:07.3

In today's episode, we're going to finish up going through the 15 beats of Blake Snyder's

1:12.0

Save the Cat Story Structure Template.

...

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