Atomic Storytelling: Developing Effective Story Beats

When writing, storytellers possess the god-like power to make something out of nothing. To create worlds where previously none existed and breathe life into characters whose journeys are entirely of their own creation.

To make something out of nothing (and better yet, to do it well), it’s important to understand the composition of the thing one is trying to create.

For storytellers, a major component of this composition is structure. Every story features at least one arc of events. This arc can be broken down into acts, which are comprised of chapters that contain scenes.

I’ve discussed each of these tiers of story structure here on the blog, but the one element I’ve yet to explore in detail is perhaps the most atomic aspect of a story’s composition: its beats.