Lost Your Pants?

The Impatient Writer's Guide to Plotting a Story

by Jami Gold -- http://jamigold.com

Story Planning for Pantsers

Romance Beat Sheet
Working Project Title: Story Title here
Basic Logline or Premise: Logline goes here
Word Count (update this & rest will auto-calculate): 110,000

Page Count (assumes Times New Roman): 400

ACTS & BEATS DESCRIPTION PAGE WORD COUNT

(approx.)

Introduce protagonists, hook the reader, and setup the

Act One 1 100 1
romance conflict (foreshadowing, establishing stakes)
Opening Image/ Opening scene or sequence of story; create empathy with
1 10 1
Hook characters by showing how they lack for something
Give a glimpse of how right the characters could be for
Inciting Incident 1 79 1
each other (Essence), but they're not ready yet (Identity)
External Relationship Arc: What happens that forces the
End of the characters to spend time together?
80 100 22000
Beginning Internal Relationship Arc: What decision do the characters
make that reflects their desire for each other?
The protagonists react to the new desire, but suffer from
Act Two 101 300 0
two steps forward and one step back
Pinch Point #1 How does the Pinch Point affect their relationship? 150 41250
External Relationship Arc: What visible sign of commitment
do the characters make to each other?
Midpoint 200 55000
Internal Relationship Arc: How are the characters still in
their Identity (and thus doomed to fail)?
Pinch Point #2 How does the Pinch Point affect their relationship? 250 68750
External Relationship Arc: What triggers the characters' fear
about their relationship (& their retreat to Identity)?
Crisis 273 300 75075
Internal Relationship Arc: How do the characters realize the
relationship can't succeed (at least with Identity)?
The protagonists summon the courage to overcome inner
Act Three 301 400 82500
obstacles and remove their emotional armor w/the other
External Relationship Arc: How does fear threaten the
potential of the relationship one last time?
Climax 301 396 82500
Internal Relationship Arc: How do the characters prove they
don't want to continue without the other anymore?
Final Image/ Show how the characters are now fully in their Essence and
397 400 109010
Resolution perfect for each other

All Material Copyright Jami Gold All Rights Reserved. Last updated on 07/11/2017
For more helpful writing information, check out http://jamigold.com/for-writers/
 Lost Your Pants? The Impatient Writer's Guide to Plotting a Story
by Jami Gold -- http://jamigold.com

RD COUNT

27500

2750

21725

27500

82500

41250

55000

68750

82500

110000

109010

110000

All Material Copyright Jami Gold All Rights Reserved. Last updated on 07/11/2017
For more helpful writing information, check out http://jamigold.com/for-writers/