Beat By Beat: A Cheat Sheet for Screenwriters

by Todd Klick

Overview

This groundbreaking guide describes six seemingly different popular movies and genres (Skyfall, The Avengers, The Hangover, A Beautiful Mind, The Conjuring, Gone Girl) and shows screenwriters how they all follow the exact same 120 Universal Story Beats minute by minute. The book also reveals the top 10 archetypes they use, and where and why the Inciting Incident, Act 2&4 Quests, Midpoints, and the other five main Turning Points happen in all successful movies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781615932603
Publisher:	Wiese, Michael Productions
Publication date:	07/01/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	17 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Todd Klick is the #1 best-selling author of Something Startling Happens: The 120 Story Beats Every Writer Needs to Know. His newest book is slated for a September 2016 release by MWP, the #1 publisher of film and television books. Todd is also a contributing author to the #1 best-selling Tarcher-Penguin book Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror: Speculative Genre Exercises from Today’s Best Writers and Teachers. Todd’s stories earned accolades with the prestigious Nicholl Fellowship and the PAGE International screenwriting competitions. Todd is a frequent speaker and panelist at writing conventions, a contributor to The Huffington Post and MovieMaker Magazine, and he has appeared on Dateline NBC and NPR to promote his work.

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword Preface Don’t Skip This Part! Four Things You Need to Know (Before Reading This Book) Frequently Asked Questions 1 Minute = 1 Screenplay Page Top 10 Movie Archetypes Essential Elements 4-Act Structure Turning Points ACT 1 1 Attension! 2 The Build 3 The Ratchet 4 Another Notch 5 Jaw Dropper 6 Friend or Fist 7 Friend or Fist 2 8 Something Startling Happens 9 The Pursuit 10 The Discussion 11 The Warning Inciting Incident 12 Harsher Warning 13 The Submission 14 Danger Watch 15 Whew, That Was Close! 16 The Big Concern 17 World Upside Down Turning Point 17 18 Trouble Turn 19 The Threat 20 Push Back 21 The Great Effect 22 Truth Declared 23 Scary Stuff 24 Scary Stuff 2 25 Scary Stuff 3 26 The Big Unexpected 27 The Mini-Quest 28 Big Quest Prep 29 Big Quest Prep 2 30 The Need Act 1 Checklist The Quest ACT 2 31 Distress Signal 32 Anxiety Amp 33 Ominous Oh No 34 Friend Effect 35 Bait and Switch 36 Hide and Seek 37 Over His Head 38 Positive Reconnect 39 New Journey Bond 40 Ally’s World 41 Thorny Rose 42 Surprise Reveal 43 Surprise Reveal 2 44 New News 45 Out of the Ordinary Turning Point 45 46 The Revelation 47 The Escort 48 Needed Knowledge 49 Foreboding Fact 50 The Portent 51 The Engage 52 Say Uncle 53 The Intimidation 54 The Lightbulb 55 Sideswipe 56 Dark Twist Chat 57 Difficult Words 58 Vital Event 59 The Deception 60 The Shocker Act 2 Checklist The Midpoint Things to Keep in Mind for Act 3 ACT 3 61 Plus Minus 62 Flirtin’ with Disaster 63 Ally Attack 64 Bad Guy Threat 65 The Resistance 66 Positive Step 67 Hero Effect 68 Ally Aid 69 Captivating Concern 70 New Journey 71 Bad to the Bone 72 Badder to the Bone 73 Baddest to the Bone 74 Put into Peril 75 Skull and Crossbones Turning Point 75 76 Death Tap 77 The Rumble 78 Mystery Mission 79 Mystery Mission 2 80 Tick Tick Boom 81 Surprised Hero 82 Surprise-Surprise 83 Gotta Go! 84 Gap Subtract 85 Bad Guy Boo-Boo Act 3 Checklist The Final Quest ACT 4 86 Worry Wound 87 Damage Done 88 Double Damage Done 89 Red Alert! 90 Rescuing Ally Turning Point 90 91 Suffer the Weak 92 Hugs ’n’ Kisses 93 Hugs ’n’ Kisses 2 94 The Aggressor 95 The Separation 96 Death and Dying 97 Taping the Knuckles 98 Kiss or Spit 99 Kiss or Spit 2 100 Kiss or Spit 3 101 Deeper Deeper 102 The Blow-Up 103 The Blow 104 The Upper Hand 105 The Deceit Turning Point 105 106 The Dodge 107 Good Does Bad 108 Sense of Finality 109 The Extraordinary 110 Strong Statement 111 Turn for the Worse 112 Charging Shark 113 The Cage Slam 114 Gets the Better 115 Bleak Meek 116 Kick ’Em While They’re Down 117 Reprieve 118 Hope Might Be Lost 119 One Bullet Left 120 Powder Keg Act 4 Checklist What If My Screenplay Is More Than 120 Pages? Sacrificing the Flaw That’s a Wrap! Glossary Beat by Beat Timeline Filmography About the Author

Editorial Reviews

"Once in a while a book comes along that shakes up the world of storytelling with a new approach that brings fresh insights and techniques to the craft. Save the Cat! was like that, a game-changer, and now another work appears that has the same potential to open doors for a lot of scriptwriters. " Christopher Vogler, The Writer's Journey

From the Publisher