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How to Pretend You've Read This Book (introduction)
Foreword
Prologue
Six Essential Tips
Sit Your Ass in the Chair and Write
Ideas are Worthless
Sit Your Ass in the Chair and Read
Don't just Read Books, Read Life
If You Can See Yourself Doing Anything Else, Do That Instead
Seriously, Sit Your Ass in the Chair and Write
Making This Book Work For You
Style Notes
Does This Sound Eerily Familiar?
Conceiving Your Story
The Random Actor Method: An Idea Springboard
Turning Inspiration into Premise
Throughline
Core Question
The Boil-Down
Subsidiary Questions
Protagonist Type
Procedural Heroes
Iconic Hero
Iconic Ethos
Iconic Hero Team-Ups
Transformational Hero
Transformational Arc
Origin Stories
Tactical Goal
Dramatic Characters
Poles
Dramatic Resolution
Anti-Heroes
Ensemble Dramas
Supporting Characters
Antagonist
Adversaries
Alazons
Rivals
Competing Antagonists
Foils
Sidekicks
Companions
Confidants
Parallel Foils
Psychopomps
Functionaries and Rude Mechanicals
Foils as Narrators
Fleshing Out Underwritten Characters
Transformational Supporting Characters
Arcs for Parallel Foils
Thematic Opposition
Genre and Expectation
Seeking Variation
Seeking a Grounding
Stance
Validatory
Revivalist
Comedic
Parodic
Satirical
Revisionist
Meta-Fictional
The Building Blocks of Narrative
Emotional Rhythm
Hope and Fear
Ups and Downs
Laterals
Crossed Arrows
Beats
Foundation Beats
Dramatic
Procedural
Finding Your Mix
Information Beats
Pipe
Question
Reveal
Flourish Beats
Anticipation
Gratification
Bringdown
Focus Characters
Between Procedural and Dramatic
Transition Mapping
Momentum
Scenes and Blocks
Transition Types
Outgrowth
Continuation
Turn
Break
Viewpoint
Rhyme
Meanwhile
Flashback
Return
Flash Forward
Laying the Groundwork
Diving Right In
Outlining
Which to Choose?
Adaptation
Finding Your Structure
Blocked Desires
Procedural Preparatory Steps
Adversary Plan
Controlling Your Adversary's Motivation
Suspense vs Surprise
Exposition Tax
Pipe List
Disorder Rises and the Hero Responds
Bidirectional Plotting
Arranging Seeds
Mapping Your Story
Your Opener
Weak Openings
Parallel Openings
Flourish Beats as Preludes
Case Studies: Classic Movie Openings
Stories are like Parties: Best Arrive Late
But Not Too Late
Your First Arrow
And Now For The Map Part
Building Incidents As You Map
Noting Transitions
Your Sequence of Events
Getting Through Stall-Outs
Using Key Elements to Overcome Stall-Outs
Core Question Example
Dramatic Poles Example
Transformative Arc Example
Iconic Ethos Example
Throughline Example
Placing Exposition
Punching Up Brief Beats
Quick and Flat vs Extended and Vivid
Procedural Pipe
Foreshadowing Dramatic Revelations
Reiterated Question Beats
Recaps
Climactic Reveals
Loose End Reveals
Combination Beats
Goal Shifts and Wavering Protagonists
Your Closer
Escalation Point
Justifying Dramatic Turns
Clearing Out Information Beats
Clearing Out Flourish Beats
Refining Transitions
Dramatic Resolution
Circular Conclusions
"What Next?" Codas
Open-Ended and Provisional Conclusions
When an Unresolved Ending is a Cheat
Transformative Resolution
Iconic Resolution
Denouement
Reviewing Your Completed Map
Trajectory
Testing for Aptness
Check Pacing Issues
Study Your Climax
Activate Your Introduction
Eliminating Repetition
Spotting and Fixing Dramatic Repetition
Spotting and Fixing Procedural Repetition
Other Repetitions
Character Tracking
Procedural Pitfalls
Predictable Moments
Apt but Unnecessary Passages
Thread Mapping
When to Thread Map
From Map to Prose Outline
First Draft
More Agnosticism, This Time on Style
Building Dramatic Scenes
Text and Subtext
Tactics
Hitting the Poles
What is That in Beats
Building Procedural Obstacles
The Dilemma
Testing the Dilemma for Aptness
Cutting to the Dilemma
Resolving the Question
Revision
The Troubles You'll Be Shooting At
Getting the Sweep
Back to the Map
Editing and Giving Notes
Facilitator or Client?
And Now for the Caveats
Getting Started
Identifying the Groundwork
Mapping the Writer's Beats
Using the Map
What You Really Mean When You Give Frustrating Notes
Making Requests that Stick
Classroom Use
Beat Analysis
Now, Over To You
Inspiration to Premise Worksheet
Beat Mapping Quick Reference
