Save the Cat! Writes a Novel

by Jessica Brody

Show them struggling to decide what to do next in all aspects of their life.

Now, I should note, the Debate doesn’t always have to be a decision. Sometimes it’s not a matter of whether or not your hero will go or stay, act or not act.

So, what does your hero do in these situations? They prepare for the big journey. They gather supplies. They train. They prep mentally, physically, and emotionally. The question in this type of Debate is usually something like, I know I’m going, but am I ready?

You need to know one very important thing about Act 2, arguably the most important thing to know about the entire beat sheet: Act 2 is the opposite of Act 1.

If Act 1 is the thesis—the status quo world—then Act 2 is the upside-down version of that.

This is our clear and defined break into the upside-down world of Act 2.

It’s important to note that heroes don’t have to physically go anywhere in order to Break Into 2. But they do have to try something new.

Regardless of whether your hero goes on a literal journey or a metaphorical one, the Break Into 2 is the moment when we leave the old world and old way of thinking behind and step into a new world and new way of thinking. It’s a single-scene beat. You get one scene or chapter to break your hero into Act 2.

You make sure the choice to Break Into 2 belongs to your hero.

If you’ve set up your wants and needs correctly, your hero’s external goal (want) is not what will inevitably fix their life. They think it is.

At this point in the story, as our hero is making their proactive decision to Break Into 2, they are still being motivated by what they want.

That’s why I like to call Act 2 fixing things the wrong way.

But they’re making uninformed decisions. They’re still motivated by those wants.

But whatever decision your hero makes when they Break Into 2 is a temporary solution.

In the Setup, we introduced the A Story characters. These are people who come from the hero’s status quo world. They represent the external story. They don’t necessarily have to go away after the hero enters Act 2, but they will inevitably take a backseat to the person or people we’re going to meet in this new world.

There are only two criteria for being a successful B Story character (others need not apply): They must in some way represent the upside-down Act 2 world. They must in some way help guide the hero toward their life lesson or theme.

The B Story character can help guide your hero toward their life lesson in a variety of different ways. For example: Your B Story character can be the embodiment of the theme.

your B Story character can be someone who, by their very nature, brings out the theme in the hero.

Or your B Story character could be someone who suffers from the same flaws as your hero, but in an even more exaggerated way, thus holding up a mirror to your hero’s flaws and allowing them to see the truth for themselves.

The B Story character will appear all throughout the second and even third act of the novel, but here’s where they first come into the story.

You can have more than one B Story character! That’s right. Many great novels have what are called twin B stories.

But if you’re going to have more than one B Story character, make sure both characters are fulfilling their duties in this role. And make sure they’re fulfilling it in different ways. Otherwise, why do we need both?

It’s also called the promise of the premise. Because when a reader starts reading a book, they were most likely told something about this particular beat—either from the summary on the

key to figuring out the Fun and Games beat is realizing that this part of the story might be fun only for the reader. Not necessarily for the hero.

multi-scene beat in which your hero either shines in their new upside-down world or flounders in it.

I call this the bouncing ball narrative. Your hero is up, your hero is down.

But despite how many times your ball bounces, in the end there should be a general direction in which the beat is heading: success or failure.

It is precisely the center of the hero’s transformative arc, and we must use that to our advantage and make the middle as dynamic and exciting as possible.

Basically it’s a single-scene beat in which three very essential things happen: The hero experiences either a false victory or a false defeat. The stakes of the story are raised. The A and B stories intersect in some way.

The Midpoint is the culmination of whatever path you chose for your Fun and Games.

If your hero is shining in their upside-down world, if things are generally working out well for them

ultimately have a false victory in your Midpoint. Your upward path has reached a peak. Your hero has seemingly won.

Because your hero still hasn’t learned the theme. In false victory Midpoints, heroes are usually feeling fairly good about themselves.

You’re showing the reader that the victory was false and that the hero’s wants were superficial because (1) the book isn’t over yet and (2) your hero is still the same flawed person they were in Act 1.

On the other hand, if your hero has been floundering like a fish out of water in the Fun and Games beat, then your Midpoint will inversely be a false defeat.

They might even feel like giving up at this point.

By creating a Midpoint in which your hero fails to get what they want (fails to achieve their external goal), you are also shining a giant spotlight on the bigger issues. You’re saying to the reader, “Hey! Look! My hero thinks their life is over because they didn’t get this thing that they thought would fix everything.”

Up until this point, your flawed hero has been given an opportunity to change their ways and fix those flaws (via the upside-down world of Act 2), but they really haven’t taken advantage of that opportunity yet.

In other words, it’s no longer Fun and Games (literally). It’s time to get serious.

LOVE STORIES RAMP UP: This usually happens in the form of a kiss (or more!), a declaration of love, a marriage, a proposal, anything that ups the ante of a relationship and makes it even more difficult for the hero to go back to their old way of life.

TIME CLOCKS APPEAR: Nothing raises stakes and refocuses your story faster than a ticking clock.

Ticking clocks grab the hero’s (and the reader’s) attention and force them to really think about what’s important and what needs to be done.