From the course: Write a Bestselling Novel in 15 Steps

Unlock this course with a free trial

Join today to access over 22,400 courses taught by industry experts.

Catalyst: Explanation

Catalyst: Explanation

- [Instructor] Back in the set-up beat, I told you that you can't spend too long setting up your world. Otherwise, readers will get bored. Something has to happen. Something big. Something that changes the entire direction of your story, and it has to happen no later than 10% of the way through your novel. Whether readers know it or not, this is the moment they've been waiting for since they first started reading your book. This is where things start getting really exciting. This is the catalyst. It's also commonly called the inciting incident or the call to action. It's something that happens to your hero that breaks their status quo world and sends the story in a new direction. After this beat, your hero's life can never be the same again. That's how big it should be. Note the underlining of the word to. This beat works best when something is happening to your hero. In other words, it's not a revelation beat or a discovery beat. The more active the beat, the more effective the…

Contents