Jargon, part 1

There’s a lot of jargon in story so I thought I’d do a couple of lists explaining some of the most popular terms. Here’s the first one

What is a beat. A scene. A sequence. A story. A cliffhanger.

• A plot is a sequence of events in a cause and effect chain, but that chain can be broken down into segments that you start linking together.

• A beat is the smallest unit of action. something that moves the story on. A beat sheet is a list of the points of action that move you through the story, not points of information

• A scene holds a number of beats (could be one, could be five or more) but what differentiates a beat from a scene is that a scene has to involve some element of change either in terms of emotion or information (preferably both) between the beginning and the end

• A sequence is a group of scenes which go together to answer a larger question in your story

• A story is a group of sequences which together answer the main story question

• A cliffhanger is what makes you want to come back, element of suspense, anticipation often during an episode or at the end of an episode