Save the Cat! Writes a Novel

by Jessica Brody

But a general rule of thumb is to have approximately 30 cards for every 25,000 words or 100 pages of story. So for a 75,000-word novel, you might end up with somewhere around 90 cards.

SINGLE FIRST-PERSON NARRATIVE DEFINITION: The novel is told from the direct point of view of one main character, using pronouns like I, me, and my.

MULTIPLE FIRST-PERSON NARRATIVE DEFINITION: The novel is told from the direct point of view of multiple main characters (usually told through alternating chapters), using pronouns like I, me, and my.

SINGLE THIRD-PERSON NARRATIVE (LIMITED) DEFINITION: The novel is told from the point of view of an outside narrator (someone not in the story), who has access to only one character’s thoughts, using pronouns like he, she, they, hers, his, and so on.

MULTIPLE THIRD-PERSON NARRATIVE (LIMITED) DEFINITION: The novel is told from the point of view of an outside narrator (someone not in the story), who has access to multiple characters’ thoughts, but only one character at a time (usually told through alternating chapters), using pronouns like he, she, they, hers, his, and so on.

THIRD-PERSON NARRATIVE (OMNISCIENT) DEFINITION: Usually found in older books (less common today), the novel is told from an outside narrator’s point of view (someone not in the story) who has access to everyone’s thoughts at once, using pronouns like he, she, they, hers, his, and so on.

So, a Series Beat Sheet for a trilogy might look something like this: Book 1 – Series Act 1 Book 2 – Series Act 2 Book 3 – Series Act 3

Book 1 – Series Act 1 Book 2 – Series Act 2 (up until a Midpoint twist) Book 3 – Series Act 2 (up until the Break Into 3) Book 4 – Series Act 3

GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO WRITE/PLOT BADLY

BE FLEXIBLE! BEATS WILL CHANGE

DON’T COMPARE YOUR WORK IN PROGRESS TO SOMEONE ELSE’S FINISHED MASTERPIECE