Beating the Story by Robin D. Laws

Prologue

Six Essential Tips

Sit Your Ass in the Chair and Write

All the schematics in the world won't help if you're not fluent with writing words, you need the practice, like any art.

Ideas are Worthless

There are lots of cool ideas out there, many like yours - the thing that makes them work is the execution, not the concept, you have to do work to create a work

Sit Your Ass in the Chair and Read

The more works and styles you're familiar with, the more ingredients in your writer's cookbook, the better your style will taste.

Don't just Read Books, Read Life

Real life serves as both an inspiration for authentic interaction, and a way to break uniquely from tropes. Study what people do/say as if you were trying to learn how they work so as to be a person.

If You Can See Yourself Doing Anything Else, Do That Instead

The societal rewards for writing are largely mythical, write because you are drawn to or have to do it, not for money, validation, lifestyle.

Seriously, Sit Your Ass in the Chair and Write

If you still will be a writer, then write.

Making This Book Work For You

Take this method with a grain of salt - use only what works for you, don't force your work to conform to the method. Remember the Vilppu Rule.

Style Notes

reader(s), viewer(s), audience - these are the same people, just depending on medium.

Does This Sound Eerily Familiar?

Robin's previous book, "Hamlet's Hit Points" uses this beat analysis, applied to TTRPGs.

Conceiving Your Story

There are a zillion ways to come up with an idea. Big list of examples. See also The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp Keep a document where you stash all your random ideas. Or you can use this:

The Random Actor Method: An Idea Springboard

1. Visit IMDB's Random Popular Actor URL repeatedly to pick out two actors you are familiar with.
2. Choose a genre you like
3. What relationship would characters played by these actors have?
4. Imagine a conflict that might arise between them

Actor + Actor + Genre + Connection + Conflict: basic generator for a writeable concept.

Turning Inspiration into Premise

Premise: Set of tightly interrelated elements you need to assemble before outlining/writing/editing using the beat analysis system

• Throughline
• Core question
• Protagonist(s)
• Supporting characters
• Thematic opposition
• Genre
• Stence if relevant

Throughline

Throughline

The movement of a story from one state to a contrasting one.

What are the states?

Circular Throughline

there and back again

Core Question

Specific to your storyline - what is the suspense, what is the audience waiting to see the resolution to?

If the outcome is telegraphed (certain murder mysteries), then it changes from What will happen to How will it happen

Changing the core question mid-story can be done, but that is a twist you need to carry your audience through.

The Boil-Down

Story premise as a sentence, starting with "This is the story of" + character & question mentions. This is the story of a described character, who does or decides something.

Never changes mid-story.

Subsidiary Questions

In case of multiple protagonists, there's usually a collective question (Who will what happen to), and then each character has their own question.

Protagonist Type

Protagonist

narrative-central figure(s) your viewer wants to succeed.

What sort of story?

Procedural hero

action and external obstacles

Dramatic character

emotional interactions and internal transformation

Procedural Heroes

Serial heroes who go on ongoing adventures, or the main actor supporting a big singleton change in the world.

Iconic Hero

Repetition over a series of adventures, completes each adventure basically unchanged, the world-fixers. Order vs disorder, even if the disorder is a false/immoral order

Iconic Ethos

The core theme of the hero, the principles that serve them to address the problem. Ability + philosophy.

Inherently repetitive, trying to transform an iconic character results in two problems: rehashing their origin story, or brainwiping them after each adventure.

Iconic Hero Team-Ups

Combining multiple iconic heroes is difficult, as you have to have a problem each ethos applies to, and has a payoff from - needs a lot of planning!

Easier to have a bunch of side characters with one iconic characters.

Notably different in serial work, each episode can focus on a different character applying their ethos to the problem of the day.

Transformational Hero

Overcomes a series of external obstacles over a single story

Transformational Arc

Through their trials, the character moves to an opposite internal state.

Origin Stories

Using a transformational arc to begin an iconic hero.

Tactical Goal

There is an external goal associated with the internal transformation. The internal arc may be what sets up the success with the goal, it doesn't have to happen simultaneously!

Dramatic Characters

story moments where characters have emotional enteractions

Poles

Each character dealing with an internal conflict of opposites, usually a positive/negative. Or at least the character certainly sees it that way, or it wouldn't be so hard to flip!

Poles frequently connected to throughline.

Dramatic Resolution

The conflict between poles is resolved, either by picking one, or accepting being stuck between them.

Anti-Heroes

Protagonists who do things we think are bad but enjoy. Poles usually boring socially acceptable value vs interesting dark impulse

Ensemble Dramas

Ensembles can have equal weights for lots of characters until the climax, and then the ones whose resolutions signify the end of the story (rather than falling before/after/never), are the actual protagonists.

Supporting Characters

Additional characters other than protagonists

Antagonists

iconic

block restoration of order

transformational

block tactical goals

dramatic

prevent them from resolving their poles

Adversaries

Key role, lay down obstacles, and have clear reasons for their actions, a counter-goal to the heroes. Vague goals makes them uninteresting.

Iconic

counter the hero's ethos

Transformational

contradicts hero's identity

Generally don't occur in dramas

Alazons

Dramatic adversary - rather than defeated, must be won over. A gatekeeper.

Rivals

Same goal as the hero in a zero sum game.

Competing Antagonists

Often one major adversary with a network of other characters that assists them.

True multiple antagonists - conflict with each other as well, creates a sense of real-world political mess.

Foils

Illuminate the protagonists

Sidekicks

Pragmatic and moral assistance to primary procedural characters

Companions

Viewpoint character for the audience when the protagonist is alien/strange

Confidants

Esp for dramas. Contrasting friends and confidants. Can push in different directions!

Parallel Foils

cautionary parallels to the hero, to build suspense

Psychopomps

Experts, trainers, and wizards.

Functionaries and Rude Mechanicals

Minor characters that make the scenes work. Potentially to underscore a moral point (this gets cheesy fast tho)

Foils as Narrators

If the protagonist fails, or would never communicate what's going on.

Fleshing Out Underwritten Characters

Foils that are heavily featured should be elevated to minor protagonists by giving them:

• dramatic poles
• transformational arc
• iconic ethos

Give demographically minimized characters more than a flat identity!

Transformational Supporting Characters

Gives the sense that other characters have lives too

Arcs for Parallel Foils

minor character with a reverse arc from the main character.

minor characters that are "fixed" by the protagonist

Thematic Opposition

Questions exploring the theme/throughline if you have more to say on the subject.

Scenes exploring this have a place in the story, rework their relevance rather than deleting them.

Genre and Expectation

Be aware of what genre you've chosen, and what audience expectations come with it.

Even "no genre" is actually its own genre, with the expectation that it doesn't appear to concern itself with fitting in.

Seeking Variation

Present the familiar elements of your genre in an unexpected way, find an angle.

Seeking a Grounding

Familiarize yourself with the genre - if you're going to try branching out, you need to know which branches are actually old rote or someone else's signature.

Stance

Perspectives on the story's genre:

Validatory

You're doing a new story in the genre

Revivalist

Evoking the classic style of the genre

Comedic

Takes a funny slant on a serious genre

Parodic

Combining comedic and revivalist, makes jokes spoofing references to previous works. (making fun of the genre itself is called a travesty)

Satirical

Dark comedy for critiquing a subject

Revisionist

Serious, critiques or undermines the assumptions of the genre

Meta-Fictional

comment on the genre, spot the references stay aware of the genre

The Building Blocks of Narrative

Three elements:

• up and down notes

  comprise story's emotional rhythm

  beats

  story moments or dramatic situations that give rise to up and down notes

  transitions

  how scenes connect and maintain or break rhythm

Emotional Rhythm

Stories create a vicarious connection by exciting our emotions in an unpredictable/varying way, between the poles of hope and fear.

Hope and Fear

Story moment (beat) holds suspense between a positive and negative outcome.

Up and Down Notes

The exit category of any given story beat, whether the overall tension arc goes up or down.

Up note

lightens the mood, lowers the tension

Down note

lowers the mood, raises the tension

Lateral note

Doesn't affect hopes or fears, for mechanical reasons.

Should be rare - many means either an experimental script, or more likely, a dull one.

Counterpoint

More interesting, mixed messages, viewers interests or expanded knowledge are at odds with the emotional tone of the scene

Beats

Up to you as the writer or editor how finely you want to slice beats.

Beats start when something happens to mess with the anticipation of hope/fear

Resolves with a turn towards hope or fear.

Lateral beats are ok if you're sure it's important.

Foundation Beats

Dramatic

one character pursuing a need for emotional reward from another

Procedural

character confronts an external complication, even if it is a person

Finding Your Mix

Genre storytelling is mostly procedural beats.

Drama is mostly dramatic beats.

Information Beats

Engage your readers by providing information needed to understand the story.

Pipe

Establish facts that come to matter later in the narrative

best embedded in a dramatic beat if it happens later, so you're not stopping the narrative for more info

Question

Introduces a question viewers want to know about - almost always a downbeat

Reveal

Provides information, usually to answer a previously established question beat - or as a surprise hidden by fridge-pipe beats

Flourish Beats

Commentary

Pause to directly offer thoughts on the matter

Anticipation

An emotional upbeat where the audience is given a sign of things to come

Gratification

Emotional up that doesn't advance the story, comic relief, fun and games

Bringdown

An emotional downbeat that doesn't arise from/advance the narrative, e.g. unrealized threats, bad things the characters don't see

Focus Characters

Sometimes you can have another character in the focus of a scene - e.g. a stand-in to demonstrate a threat

Between Procedural and Dramatic

Procedural and dramatic beats can spawn one another, either in unison or opposition.

Turning Commentary Beats into Foundation Beats

Engaging the commentary in a dramatic beat, especially one that depicts it, can liven up a flat scene

Transition Mapping

maintain and build momentum

Momentum

Keeping your audience on the edge of their seats

Scenes and Blocks

A scene - all action occurring in one time/place

A scene may have one or more beats.

Transition Types

Outgrowth

Strongest momentum - New scene develops from a consequence of the immediately previous scene

Continuation

Same character in pursuit of the same goal, but not events related to previous scene

Turn

3rd smoothest transition - Same viewpoint character, clearly different goals

Break

Costs momentum - Different time, different place, entirely different plot thread.

Viewpoint

Extra cost for picking up new character POV - Shift to a character's viewpoint for the first time.

Rhyme

Break smoothed by a visual (or rarely auditory) commonality on each side.

Meanwhile

Shifts place but not time, not an outgrowth of the previous scene. Smooths a break with the connection in time, frequently some other association too.

Flashback

Moves from present, to a scene that functions as a reveal

Return

Concludes a flashback and returns to the present, resumes momentum

Flash Forward

A preview of future action. Record scratch. Freeze frame. You're probably wondering how I got here.