Dennis L. writes: I’m a screenwriting neophyte and if you could, please, give an example of a scene outline? I think I’m over-thinking what constitutes how a “beat” should read in a scene. This comment is in reference to my article on the types of screenplay beats. Monica says: Okay, so let’s discuss how a […]
Tag Archives | Beat Sheet
If It Doesn’t Buy You Something, Take It Out
By Monica on July 29, 2009 in Beat Sheet, Character, Genre, Location, Logical World, Process, Screenwriting Competitions, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
The more I write and the more I read, I find I return to this mantra again and again: If it doesn’t buy you something, take it out. Screenplay beats to me are a commodity. You have to buy the beats in the beginning of your story to cash them in later on in the […]
Screenplay: The Importance of the First Five Pages
By Monica on July 20, 2009 in Beat Sheet, Character, Formatting, Genre, Location, Logical World, Process, Screenwriting Competitions, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
The opening five pages of your screenplay give me a ton of information about the breadth and scope of your project. As with the opening of a novel or any other literary work, the opening of your screenplay should be a microcosm of the world of your script. It’s the first taste – but as […]
Breaking Story: The Six Major Beats
Generally, when people begin the outline process or look more specifically at the structure of any given script, they look closely at the six beats. In film school, it was explained to us that these are the major “tent pole” story points – the major points of story upon which you hang the rest of […]
Screenplay Plotting: Where’s the B Story?
Many of the scripts I’m reading at the competition level are very unsophisticated in the plotting of their B stories. Many don’t have B stories at all. Your A story may be well plotted and the characters may be clearly and succinctly drawn, however, if there aren’t interesting B stories dense with subtext that inform […]
“You Suck,” and Other Things You’d Love To Scream at Someone Giving You Notes on Your Script
I’m writing again about giving and receiving notes because it’s important. In this last week, I’ve had two hard notes sessions (giving notes). Okay, we’re adults. We can admit it. Getting notes is hard. It’s usually shocking. We pour our heart and soul into something, we hear the notes, feel that the person “doesn’t get […]
What, Technically, is a “Beat” in a Screenplay?
By Monica on June 29, 2009 in Beat Sheet, Character, Formatting, Genre, Location, Logical World, Process, Story, Uncategorized
A writer friend of mine emailed asking me to better describe what is a screenwriting “beat.” Here’s the skinny. This is actually a point of confusion for many people, and I recall it was very confusing to me when I started at film school because there are actually three kinds of beats, but people just […]
The Screenplay Outline: Carding Out Your Story
I am a big outliner. I think it’s important when breaking story. I know some screenwriters approach writing the screenplay as do many novelists: they let the story find them. However, with the script, page count is so limited and every scene and every word so valuable – so why take the risk of not […]
Screenplay Genre and Structure: Why the Beat Sheet?
The beat sheet is the best way to learn about screenplay structure, genre conventions and how to structure your script when you’re starting to outline. A beat sheet is basically what you should create for yourself as an outline before going to page, however even before you start beating out your own script it is […]
Romantic Comedy Beat Sheet: The Wedding Planner
Here is a breakdown I did on The Wedding Planner. First of all, I love this movie (love you, Shankman!). I think it’s funny, romantic, really charming and well written (go, Pam and Mike!). It is also very well structured, so it’s a good one to study. What is of notice is the major plot […]
Screenwriting Homework: Beat Sheets
Screenplay is about structure. Structure isn’t a random fascist convention designed to sabotage and infuriate would-be screenwriters: it’s a means for the reader and audience to know where we are in the journey. Structure as it relates to screenplay is a tool to help writers develop and increase the dramatic stakes of their story. Everything […]