In total, I spent about a decade studying creative writing as an undergraduate and graduate student. But the most impactful piece of writing craft I learned was something I found on the internet years after I finished my degrees. And that piece of craft is called the beat sheet.

The beat sheet is a screenwriting tool that expands on the standard three-act structure, adding specific moments (or beats in the Hollywood parlance) that build tension and enhance the cause and effect.

When we take on a developmental edit, the first thing we do is map the plot of a client’s book to the structure of the beat sheet. And while a literary purist may balk at the idea of applying a prescriptive structure to their work, we think of the beat sheet more as a kind of lens that allows us to see our client’s work more clearly.

What this lens often reveals is that seemingly big concerns (slow pacing, low tension, weak cause and effect) are actually small issues of structure. And using the beat sheet to identify a missed beat—or a series of beats that are misaligned—we’re able to make a big impact on a client’s work with only minimal changes.

A quick search will turn up beat sheets tailored to just about any genre (including fantasy, romance, and horror), but since you’re here, I thought I’d offer you the version of the beat sheet that we apply to our clients’ work. Even if it doesn’t unlock every challenge you face in your writing, I hope it at least saves you from ten years of creative writing workshops and literature courses.

Act I – The Set Up
Sets the stage for reader, establishing the setting and introducing the most important characters. The action starts when the main character is confronted with an external conflict (often this problem reflects or engages with their internal conflict). The main character hesitates before taking on the external conflict, and the first act ends once the main character decides to go forward.

Opening Image (0-1%): A compelling image that hooks the reader in while establishing some crucial element of the world or the main character.
Themes Stated (5%): Central themes the book will explore are established through the action or dialogue. A secondary character or thing introduces the themes.
Set-Up (1-10%, multiple scenes): Build out the world of the narrative and introduce primary characters through a series of scenes that show the main character going about their everyday life.
Call to Action (10%, halfway through the first act): An inciting incident disrupts the world the main character inhabits, introducing a conflict that makes it impossible to return to normal.
Debate/Resistance to Call to Action (10-20%): The main character is reluctant to confront the conflict, reflecting on how the journey in front of them will affect their life. This reflection sets the stakes for the journey.

Act II – The Confrontation
The main character moves fully into the new world, where they encounter new characters and additional obstacles. Primed by meeting a significant secondary character (the B story character), the main character’s actions kick off a chain of cause and effect. The tension and stakes rise toward the story’s midpoint, where the main character faces a reversal that will force them to confront their internal flaw and embrace change to achieve their desire.

Crossing the Threshold (20%): The main character accepts the call to action and leaves status quo, either physically or mentally.
B Story Character (22%): Because main character enters this new world, they meet a new character who will catalyze their journey of self-discovery. This B story character can be a friendly helper, a love interest, a mentor, a foe, or a thing.
Fun And Games (20-50%): The main character either makes progress or repeatedly fails in many action scenes that focus around external conflicts in their new reality. This upward or downward trajectory leads to the Midpoint.
Midpoint (50%): The main character faces a reversal. If things have been going well, the midpoint is a false moment of triumph after which everything begins to spiral. If things have been going poorly, the midpoint is a false low after which things begin to turn around.
Bad Guys Close In/External to Internal (50-75% rising tension): After the midpoint, the main character continues to face external obstacles that raise the stakes and tension. Whether they are now on a positive or negative trajectory, the rest of Act Two builds to a moment when the main character’s internal flaw causes them to fail in a seemingly irreversible way.
All Is Lost (75%): At the climactic moment of Act Two, the main character hits rock bottom. Often something big has been taken away from them. Their mentor or helper dies, or their love interest leaves. As a result, the main character faces their inner demons alone.
Dark Night of the Soul/Epiphany (75-80%): The main character confronts their internal flaw as they struggle to find a way forward. In this mini-cliffhanger, the main character considers giving up before recognizing that they must change to achieve their ultimate goal.

Act III – Resolution
Emerging from their dark night of the soul, the main character discovers a way forward that sets in motion a chain of cause and effect that builds to a climax from which the main character emerges transformed.

The Fix (80%): The main character comes up with a solution that will solve both their internal and external conflicts.
Finale (80-99%): A multi-beat sequence of rapidly rising tension where the main character dies (either literally or metaphorically) and is resurrected transformed.
Finale Beat 1 – Prep: Main character gathers their strength or otherwise prepares (assembles team, weapons, maps, supplies, or information).
Finale Beat 2 – Action: Main character and their allies launch their plan.
Finale Beat 3 – Twist: The main character steps into a trap or recognizes a flaw in their plan, resulting in another all-is-lost moment.
Finale Beat 4 – Reaction to Twist: To regain the upper hand, main character must overcome their internal flaw once and for all.
Finale Beat 5 – Climax: The change in the main character allows them to alter their plan and succeed. The ultimate reward awaits, either metaphorical or literal.
Final Image (99-100%): A final compelling image showing the main character now reborn after their transformation. Either offers closure or a cliffhanger.