The Setup Beat

Written: September 14, 2020 at 8:31 PM
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The Setup (15 Story Beats) is a multi-scene beat where you show, in detail, the life of your hero. They should be actively seeking something that is an attempt to make their life better in their estimation. It doesn't need to be the thing they'll be working towards later though. All that matters is they're trying to fix their flaws - just in a way that ultimately won't prove fruitful.

The objective of the Setup beat is clear - make the reader understand why the hero needs to change (Learning is integral to our eternal progression). Their Act 1 world should be lacking. You should highlight all of their flaws - and they should have many. They're human, afterall - at least your reader is, so therefore you should play to that humanity (I Am Not a Robot).

The character should feel like if they stay in this Act 1 routine, or world, they'll die. This is explicit moment, and is called the stasis = death moment.

Citations

#toolong #writing