From the course: Write a Bestselling Novel in 15 Steps

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Catalyst: Examples

Catalyst: Examples

From the course: Write a Bestselling Novel in 15 Steps

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Catalyst: Examples

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- [Instructor] Catalyst beats can be some of the most fun moments to spot in movies and books because they usually, when done right, take the hero completely by surprise, and ultimately send their life in a new direction. Let's take a look at some of the greats. Legally Blonde. Around eight minutes into the movie, Elle Woods, who thinks her boyfriend, Warner, is about to propose, gets dumped. Elle can't return to her old life after this. This is definitely a harbinger of change for her, and leads to everything that happens for the rest of the movie. The breakup leads to her determination to get her boyfriend back, which leads to her applying to law school, which leads to her getting into law school, which leads to all the comedy of a pink-swathed Beverly Hills' sorority girl attending the stuffy, plaid-filled world of Harvard Law School, which is the whole premise of the film. So, no, the catalyst cannot be random. It has to be logically linked or connected to the rest of the story…

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