Ines Johnson is Having a Breakdown

Mysteries and Thrillers are similar in beats with a few differences. Check out this episode to get clued into the mystery beats.

THE CRIME

ADHESION TO THE CASE

INITIAL THEORY

THREE SUSPECTS AND A KILLER

REMINDER OF DANGER

HERO IN PERIL (ALL IS LOST)

SPEECH IN PRAISE OF THE VILLAIN/WHO DUNNIT

RESOLUTION

I believe there are 7 Beats -obligatory scenes that readers or viewers expect- in a thriller; particularly romantic suspense. Come learn all about 

The Crime or Threat

Adhesion to the Case

The Initial Theory

Three Bangs and an Explosion

Reminder of Danger

Speech in Praise of the Villain (Why/How Dunnit)

Resolution

Want a breakdown of the beats of Paranormal Romance? This episode lists the nine beats I believe are common in all romances that feature werewolves, vampires, fae and other kinds of supernatural beings.

You just finished writing thousands and thousands of words in your manuscript and told an emotional love story with kissing. But wait, you're not done. Now you have to write a couple hundred words to sell that story.

Faith is a tricky subject when it comes to taking someone else's work and making it your own. Following Krevolin's rules of originality, seeking without destroying, keeping the key things, while maintaining the character arc can get you through adapting a work as short as a newspaper headline or as long as a 500-plus page novel.

Did you know there's only four types of obstacles that your protagonist can face? They are an Antagonist, Physical Obstruction, Inner/Psychology Problems, or a Mystic Force. Let's break these four down with a trip to Disneyland!

Want to learn more about pacing, try my courses

Page Turner Pacing Course https://ineswrites.com/PTP

Writing Sweet at ineswrites.com/writingsweet

Writing Dirty at ineswrites.com/writingdirty

There aren't three bases in the game of love. There are twelve. Find out the twelve levels of intimacy in this episode.

Want to learn more about pacing, try my courses

Page Turner Pacing Course https://ineswrites.com/PTP

Writing Sweet at ineswrites.com/writingswee

In a romance novel, the love scenes should be integral to the plot. Otherwise it's just description that readers will gloss over to get back to the important action. Best beats or pacing points for a love scene are scenes of Growth, Setbacks or Regroups because those are scenes where characters tend to grow, learn, and evolve emotionally.

Want to learn more about pacing, try my courses

Page Turner Pacing Course https://ineswrites.com/PTP

Writing Sweet at ineswrites.com/writingsweet

Writing Dirty at ineswrites.com/writingdirty

In addition to the twelve pacing points that we talked about previously, each genre of popular fiction has beats that readers are expecting see or hear. If you don't hit these beats in your story its like a record scratch. Wanna know the beats I hear every time I read, write, or listen to a love story? 

Buttons are like punctuation marks. Like a period, exclamation point, or question mark, a button is a punctuation mark at the end of an act in a show or a scene (or chapter) in a book. To use these in writing treat the end of your chapters like commercial breaks and turn that last sentence into a question mark, or send in the ellipses in that last bit of dialogue, or add a dash that forces the reader to turn the page.