How to Face the Blank Page (another angle)

by Susan Chapek

Like my Route 19 neighbor Cynthia, I hate facing a blank page. Ever since I discovered the late, great Blake Snyder, I don't have to. Because as soon as I get a notion that might possibly become a story, I fill that first, blank page with the Beat Sheet template derived from Blake's masterwork Save The Cat.

My personalized version of Blake's template* looks something like this:

Now all I need to do is fill in the blanks. I don't have to do it in order. I don't have to flounder with voice, tone, or tense. I know I'll probably change some entries later—sometimes after the first draft is complete. But slowly or quickly my first page fills up, the Beat Sheet template helping me build a strong story skeleton with the ankle bone connected to the leg bone, and so on, all in proper order.

Once the page is full, it's easy to start fleshing out the beats.

I know. Save the Cat is a screenwriting method. But I'm not the first writer to notice that the plot structure of commercial feature-length movies is an elegant match for the structure of middle grade novels. (Compare STC's template to Tracey Dils' description of the MG form in You Can Write Children's Books.) Blake's template also works with genre novels (suspense, romance, etc.) for any age group.

There are some writers for whom Blake's method might not work:

1) If you never need an outline, you won't need STC. (I've heard about writers called pantsers, and I believe they exist, just as I believe in fairies; if you're a pantser, you probably won't connect with Blake's conviction that the bones need to be there first. You probably have no fear of the blank page, either.)

2) If you consider your stories character-based, you may feel that Blake's method focuses on plot rather than characters. (I disagree. In fact, the title Save the Cat derives from one of Blake's tools for creating an empathetic MC.)

3) Finally, if you're wrangling the multiple subplots of a long, complex novel, the STC template isn't detailed enough. (Of course, when your masterpiece becomes a feature film, the screenwriter will slash it or wrench it around to fit into the STC template, or something very similar. Just sayin, be prepared.)

So who will benefit from Blake's Beat Sheet? (1) The writer who comes up with a terrific first scene, and then rambles on aimlessly from there (or stalls in place, rewriting Chapter 1 for months). (2) The writer struggling to connect a great Beginning with a great Ending; Blake's method shows you in clear stages just what should happen in the Middle, and when. (3) The writer who finds the standard arc of story structure (goal, obstacle, turning points, climax, resolution) too general to be helpful. (4) The children's writer frustrated by plot methods designed for building complex, adult novels. (5) The writer with a messy first draft who needs a guide to the fix. (6) The writer who wants to analyze existing novels to see what makes them work—but doesn't know how. I've been all of those writers at one time or another.  

The best part of Blake's template is its simplicity. You're required to keep the template on one page. You're forced to hone in on the essentials.

Wait. Changed my mind. The best part of the template is how it won't let you cheat. If I find myself inclined to skip a beat, or unsure what it should be, or unable to express it in one sentence, or repeating an earlier beat, or telling myself that this story doesn't need to fit the mold because it's different from every other story—ruh roh! The sin always turns out to be in my plot, not in the template.


The Save the Cat series is also a great guide to honing your pitch, finding the perfect title, or creating and testing the strength of your hook (in screenwriter's parlance, your "poster").


*Permission is not granted for this image to be duplicated, forwarded, or "pinned" in any manner. This image is not an exact copy of my own template, or of any image from Blake Snyder's books or web site.

My 'Magic' Board: Getting Started

Last May, Marcy and I drove to Cleveland to attend a session on YA novels held by the Northern Ohio SCBWI chapter. The 2 ½ hour drive was well worth our time and gas $$. This is a really active chapter and several members of the Rt19Writers hope to attend more of the Northern Ohio events (www.nohscbwi.org ).

            We met some great people at the presentation, including author Rebecca Barnhouse, who gave a terrific talk about developing plot. Although everyone has a shelf full of books on how-to-write-a-novel, nothing beats a concise 45 minute presentation to remind you of what's important to focus on at the beginning of a story.

            Everyone starts story development in their own unique way – some people make outlines, some just jump in and start writing. I use my "Magic Board" (as Fran calls it), an approach I picked up in screenwriting class with Kitty and Lee. Here's what my board looks like for the YA novel I'm working on:

 

For people who think visually, colored 3x5 notecards are a perfect tool. Once a story idea begins to take over and push other useful thoughts out of my brain, like making a grocery list for the week, it's time to flesh out the idea to see if it's got enough substance for 275+ pages. I jot down a few key questions on blue cards and tape them to a cork bulletin board (I don't like to use push pins because they always fall out and I step on them. Writing's painful enough without drawing actual blood). I've incorporated notes from Rebecca's talk into this process:

Who is the MC (main character)? How old, gender, race, name, personality & quirks, IQ, home life, etc. 

The other blue card asks questions like:
What does the MC want, and why can’t he have it?
Is it an internal or external problem; is he aware of it or not?
What is his flaw?

"Answers" and thoughts about these questions are jotted down on white cards below the blue cards.

The Yellow card reminds me to think about possible Macro and Micro structures for the book. For example, if a book is written entirely with diary entries or as a travelogue, that's the Macro structure. The Micro structure nudges me that each section, such as a chapter, has to have an arc with a beginning , middle and end, just like the overall book.

(The green card on the top is a special reminder that 'the acquisition of knowledge is key to the plot.' Usually I use purple for special notes to me, but I ran out.)

The green cards in a row set up the 3-Act structure and turning points:

ACT 1: Show MC's world before the 1^st Turning Point or 'Change" occurs, so you can understand and get to know MC and his flaws.

TURNING POINT #1:  MC encounters an agent of change or "an inciting event".  This starts the transformation of MC. MC will resist this change.  (Note: in some books, the inciting event is hidden and unfolds during the story, like the initial attack in Laurie Halse Anderson's terrific book, Speak.)

ACT 2: Move toward the middle of the novel. MC stuggles with things making him change. Author should make things worse and worse to the point of despair and giving up for MC. This is when/where the MC starts to change. (This is the longest part of the book and, I think, the most challenging. Must be filled with interesting challenges to keep from getting boring!)

TURNING POINT #2: Climax. Significant event that forces MC to come to terms with his transformation. Determines what happens with the MC.

ACT 3: Resolution. The aftermath of what has happened. Shows that MC has changed and is coming to terms with the changes. What is different?      

            The white cards below the green cards are where I work out individual scenes to move the story forward. This is where nothing's-too-crazy-at-this-point brainstorming happens. I jot down all kinds of ideas and thoughts of what can happen to the MC. Then cards get moved around, expanded, changed, whatever. Sequences develop. Note: a lot of these cards get pulled off and aren't used, but I save them to revisit if I get stuck later in the story.

            Now, what are the pink cards sprinkled among the white cards? In my current story, the pink cards show whenever the "love interest" pops up (she's a subplot, not the main focus of the story). The pink cards give me an idea of when I need to bring her back – I don't want too much time to pass between her scenes with the MC, but too many pink cards alert me that she's becoming too dominate – you know how domineering teenage girls can be . . . 

            Once I finish the first draft and get comments from my writers group, I revisit the board to update it and rethink what's happened. New white cards and scenes are slipped in and used for the next draft.

            While it may not be 'magic', that's how I start a story, knowing it will change and evolve as it's written – how many times has a minor character been so interesting that he/she grows into a more important role, like Jacob in Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series? I'd love to hear how our blog readers get started!

            A big thanks to Rebecca Barnhouse for sharing her story pointers (and her always encouraging emails). She's a scholar and teacher of all things medieval – check out her new book, The Coming of the Dragon, a retelling of the end of Beowulf, and her last YA novel from ye old old old not-so-merry-England-if-you're-a-servant-girl, The Book of the Maidservant, on her website: http://rebeccabarnhouse.com