Save the Cat! Writes a Novel

by Jessica Brody

And that brings us to a great tip for writing flawed heroes: Don’t let the problem stay contained to just one area of your hero’s life. Let the problem(s) manifest and spread and infect! Your hero’s problem(s) should be affecting their entire world: their work, their home life, and their relationships. When someone starts reading your novel, they should be thinking something along the lines of, Whoa, what a mess this person’s life is!

But it’s not enough for your hero just to have flaws; your hero also has to want something (badly) and be proactively trying to get it.

Now, the question is: what does your hero think will fix those problems, or what does your hero think will better their life?

The most effective character goals or wants are concrete and tangible.

Something tangible that the reader can keep track of and root for. And speaking of your hero getting what they want: Why haven’t they?

Almost every want or goal has an equal and opposite force holding the hero back from achieving it. This force is often presented as a “conflict” or “nemesis.” What is standing in the hero’s way?

The wants, regardless of whether they change or stay the same, are what drive the story forward. They’re what keep the plot moving.

Because in the end, the want is only half the story. Heroes aren’t complete until they also have a need.

We call that real problem the shard of glass. It’s a psychological wound that has been festering beneath the surface of your hero for a long time. The skin has grown over it, leaving behind an unsightly scar that causes your hero to act the way they act and make the mistakes that they do (flaws!). You, as the author and creator of this world, have to decide how that shard of glass got there. Why is your hero so flawed? What happened to them to make them the way they are?

And most important, what will really fix your hero’s life? What does your hero actually need?

Your hero’s want or goal is an integral part of what’s called the A Story. The A Story is the external story. It’s the stuff that happens on the surface. Car chases; wars; fights in the school hallway; new jobs; casting magic spells; taking on an evil, dystopian government; poisoning the king. Essentially, it’s the exciting stuff. The “cool” stuff. Or what’s also referred to as the premise. On the other hand, the B Story is the internal story. It’s the story that’s intricately linked to what your hero needs to learn in order to change their life, complete their transformation, and enter the hall of fame of story-worthiness. The B Story/internal story/need is what your novel is really about.

I’ve found that almost every novel throughout time has an internal goal or need that is in some way a derivative of one of the following ten universal lessons: Forgiveness: of self or of others Love: includes self-love, family love, romantic love Acceptance: of self, of circumstances, of reality Faith: in oneself, in others, in the world, in God Fear: overcoming it, conquering it, finding courage Trust: in oneself, in others, in the unknown Survival: including the will to live Selflessness: including sacrifice, altruism, heroism, and overcoming greed Responsibility: including duty, standing up for a cause, accepting one’s destiny Redemption: including atonement, accepting blame, remorse, and salvation

If you’re writing a story with multiple main characters and/or multiple points of view and you’re still having problems figuring out who the hero is, or whose arc is the biggest, try asking yourself, Which of my main characters is most like my reader?

That is the purpose of the Act 1 world. It is the thesis world, or the “status quo” world. It is designed to show the reader of your novel what your hero’s life and world look like before everything starts to change.

1. OPENING IMAGE WHAT DOES IT DO? Provides a quick “before” snapshot of your hero and their world. WHERE DOES IT GO? 1% (This is the first scene or chapter of your novel.)

But above all else, the Opening Image is an image. Yes, that sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many writers in my workshops don’t really grasp this right away. It should be a visual representation of your hero’s flawed life. So what does that mean? It means, open your novel with something active. There’s a reason it’s not called the Opening Inner Monologue or the Opening Info Dump. We should see your flawed hero in action. Remember all those flaws you jotted down in chapter 1, when we created our story-worthy heroes? Well, here’s where you pick one (or two, or three) and show us how those flaws are screwing up your hero’s life.

The Opening Image has a mirror beat (or an opposite beat) called the Final Image, the very last beat of the novel. If the Opening Image shows us where the hero begins, the Final Image shows us where the hero ends. They are bookends of the transformative journey. And you should make them as different as possible.

2. THEME STATED WHAT DOES IT DO? Briefly alludes to the transformative journey that your hero will take and the flaw or flaws they will eventually conquer. WHERE DOES IT GO? 5% (or somewhere within the first 10% of the novel)

Essentially, the Theme Stated is the hero’s need or life lesson, somehow hinted at up front in the story (often by a secondary character).

The Theme Stated is a single-scene beat. It usually comes and goes very quickly. The theme is stated and then the story moves on. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be a person who states the theme. Although that’s more common, I sometimes see themes stated on a billboard the hero passes or in a book or magazine the hero is reading. You can be creative in how you state your theme, just as long as you state it.

And this is what I love about the Theme Stated. The hero often ignores it! So, there’s your flawed hero. They’re traipsing around the Act 1 world, being flawed, making stupid decisions, generally leading an imperfect life, and then someone (usually a secondary character) comes up to them and says, “You know what would really fix your life? This!” Your hero is essentially presented with the answer to all of their problems right there at the beginning of the book. But do they listen? Of course not! They completely, 100-percent ignore this person. Because at the start of the novel, your hero is resistant to change. They hear the theme stated and they go, “What the heck does he know? He doesn’t know me.” That’s why it’s often best to have the theme stated by a secondary character—a passerby, a fellow traveler on the bus, a nemesis—as opposed to someone close to your hero. This is by no means a hard-and-fast rule, but it’s easier for a reader to believe that the hero would ignore the theme if it’s stated by a stranger or someone the hero doesn’t necessarily know or trust.

People rarely change because someone tells them to change. People change only when they can see their flaws for themselves. When they’ve been through some sort of transformative journey and come out on the other side having finally realized the truth. That is the essence of being human.

3. SETUP WHAT DOES IT DO? Sets up your hero’s life and their status quo world before everything changes. WHERE DOES IT GO? 1% to 10% (This beat usually takes up the first tenth of the novel.)

The more we see your hero in different aspects of their life, the better we will understand them as people.

these problems are referred to as the things that need fixing. Basically, it’s a laundry list (however long you want) of things that are wrong with the hero’s life.

The things that need fixing all will reappear throughout the rest of the story. They will serve as checkpoints along the journey to demarcate change.

This is called the stasis = death moment. It’s the moment that comes somewhere in the Setup beat that shows the reader that change is imperative; otherwise, things are going south. Fast.

4. CATALYST WHAT DOES IT DO? Disrupts the status quo world with a life-changing event. WHERE DOES IT GO? 10% (or earlier)

The Catalyst is a single-scene beat in which something happens to the hero to send their life in an entirely new direction. Notice that I emphasize the word “to.” The Catalyst always happens to your hero.

5. DEBATE WHAT DOES IT DO? Shows how resistant your hero is to change and/or prepares your hero for the break into Act 2. WHERE DOES IT GO? 10% to 20% (This beat takes us from Catalyst to the end of Act 1.)

Heroes drag their feet. They hem and haw. They debate. It’s a multi-scene beat in which you visibly show us how resistant your hero is to accept the change that’s been thrown at them. An effective way to do this is to take your hero back to home, work, and play. Show them struggling to decide what to do next in all aspects of their life. Because if they decide too quickly, you risk losing credibility with your reader. 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. Sometimes that part is obvious.

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?

Act 2 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. The polar opposite. The inverse. The antithesis.

6. BREAK INTO 2 WHAT DOES IT DO? Brings the hero into the upside-down world of Act 2, where they will fix things the wrong way. WHERE DOES IT GO? 20% (Before you get one-quarter of the way through your novel, there should be a clear Act break.)

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 make sure the choice to Break Into 2 belongs to your hero. They must be proactive about it. The decision can be put before them by someone else, but the actual choice to act must be theirs and theirs alone. Regardless of the flaws you’ve set up in Act 1—regardless if your hero is meek or indecisive, or foolish, or selfish, or cowardly—this is where all heroes prove they have something in them worth rooting for. Something worth reading about. This is where all heroes show they’re at least somewhat willing to try something new.

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. They’d bet their life on it! But in the end, it’s their internal or spiritual goal (need) that will make them a better person.

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

7. B STORY WHAT DOES IT DO? Introduces the character who will somehow represent the B Story/spiritual story/theme and help your hero learn it. WHERE DOES IT GO? 22% (Usually happens right after the Break Into 2, but can come earlier. Just make sure it happens in the first 25% of the novel.)

The B Story character is a helper character—the person who’s ultimately going to somehow help your hero learn the theme. They usually come in the form of a love interest, a new friend, a mentor, or a nemesis. Yes, B Story characters can be enemies! I’ve seen it done well many times. 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 first criterion means that the hero could never have met or noticed this character in Act 1. It was only because of the Catalyst and subsequent Break Into 2 that this B Story character fully came into the hero’s life.

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.

Many great novels have what are called twin B stories. This can happen in the form of a love interest and a mentor. Or a love interest and a new friend.

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?

8. FUN AND GAMES WHAT DOES IT DO? Delivers on the promise of the premise of the novel and shows us how your hero is faring in the new Act 2 world (either having fun or floundering). WHERE DOES IT GO? 20% to 50% (This beat spans the entire first half of Act 2.)

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.

So to avoid confusion, let’s define the Fun and Games beat like this: a multi-scene beat in which your hero either shines in their new upside-down world or flounders in it. Because those are your only two options. They’re either loving it or hating it.

I call this the bouncing ball narrative. Your hero is up, your hero is down. Things are going swimmingly, things are going horribly. The hero succeeds at something, then fails at something.

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. This is something you must decide. Is this beat an upward path (the general direction heading toward success) or a downward path (the general direction heading toward failure)?

The general direction of your Fun and Games is a critical decision to be made as you structure your novel. Because as you’ll soon see, whichever path you choose for this beat—upward or downward—will ultimately define not only the next beat (the Midpoint) but the rest of the second act.