Save the Cat! The Middle Beats (Part 2)

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

🗓️ 24 August 2021

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the beats that make up the second half of the middle 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:

[01:55] A recap of last week's episode that focused on the first half of the middle beats in the STC! method. Click here to listen to episode #48 first!
[03:05] The average novel is about 80k words, and this section (the middle, part two) is about 20k of them. If you write 1,500-word scenes, you're looking at about 14 scenes here.
[03:45] Some of the beats are single scene beats while others are multi-scene beats. I will tell you which is which!
[04:15] Beat #10 is the Bad Guys Close in beat, which is a multi-scene beat where the external and/or internal bad guys put pressure on your protagonist so that they're ultimately set up for change in the upcoming beats.
[09:55 Beat #11 is the All is Lost beat, which is a single scene beat and the worst moment of the story so far for your protagonist where everything feels horrible.
[24:25] Beat #12 is the Dark Night of the Soul beat which is a multi-scene beat where the protagonist evaluates, analyzes, and thinks about everything (especially whatever happened in the All is Lost moment) and has an epiphany regarding what to do next.
[19:00] Beat #13 is the Break Into Three beat which is a single scene beat where the protagonist takes their first step or action to execute their new plan.
[22:15] Key points and episode recap.

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Links mentioned in this episode:

Episode Freebie: Scene Planning Roadmap PDF
Ep. 47 - Save the Cat! The Beginning Beats (article)
Ep. 48 - Save the Cat! The Middle Beats (Part 1) (article)
Ep. 40 - How to Write a Well-Structured Scene (article)
Book: Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brod

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	And the reason it's so important is that it's really hard for a person or a character to change
0:05.8	when they don't want to change unless they hit rock bottom first. So by this point in the story,
0:11.6	your protagonist has tried everything to accomplish or get that specific thing that he or she
0:16.8	thinks will bring them happiness and fulfillment. But guess what? Even if they got or accomplished
0:21.8	that special thing, it's not going to solve all their problems. So they have to hit rock bottom
0:27.2	here and then they have to realize that what they really need to overcome is their internal
0:31.5	obstacle or that outdated worldview or that false belief. Welcome to the Fiction Writing
0:37.2	Made Easy Podcast. My name is Savannah Gilbo and I'm here to help you write a story that works.
0:42.8	I want to prove to you that writing a novel doesn't have to be overwhelming. So each week,
0:47.2	I'll bring you a brand new episode with simple, actionable, and step-by-step strategies that you can
0:52.4	implement in your writing right away. So whether you're brand new to writing or more of a seasoned
0:56.9	author looking to improve your craft, this podcast is for you. So pick up a pen and let's get started.
1:03.6	In today's episode, we're going to continue going through the 15 beats of Blake Snyder's Save the
1:08.8	Cat Story Structure Template. Specifically, we're going to focus on the beats that make up the
1:13.3	second half of Act 2 or the second half of the middle section of your story. We're also going to
1:18.5	look at how these beats show up in two different young adult stories, the Hunger Games, and everything
1:23.5	everything. If you haven't listened to the last two episodes yet, episode number 47 and episode
1:28.6	number 48, I highly recommend pushing pause on this episode and going back to listen to those
1:33.6	episodes first. I will link to both of those episodes in the show notes for easy access. As a random
1:39.7	side note, you might notice my voice is a little froggy and that's because I'm just getting over
1:43.9	bronchitis and my voice is still not up to its normal capabilities. I didn't want to miss another
1:49.0	week of getting this podcast out, so bear with me and let's hope my voice lasts through the whole
	...

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