A beat is more than a plot point. Your script should have hundreds of beats.

Plot points are beats, but not every beat will be a plot point. Plot points, basically, are major reversals. So, the inciting incidents and climaxes. There can be more, but you're going to have at least three of each.

OK, whatever.  They're mini plot points.

If you don't worry about them, it doesn't really matter, does it?

OK,

I think I will just keep my perception of what a beat is because I think this might be a subject that might have the cat chasing it's own tail. So cheers.

Shawn.....><

I use (beat) sometimes. I use it to set up a funny line. It's like the pause is the anticipation of the character's reaction to the next line.
Does that make sense?

I use... (is that an ellipse?) in dialogue to show, not so much of a pause but a change in the way the character says the sentence.

I've never used a beat sheet, only a scene outline which could be similiar.

BEAT UP!

It seems everyone is getting Beat Up over Beats.

Do not confuse a Story Beat with the expression shown as (beat) in many screenplays which is often used to indicate a pause in dialogue or action. (Considered to be ‘directing off the page’). Which should be achieved from the expressions and words created by the writer enabling the director and actors to feel the (beat).

Obviously (beat) is included in Shooting Scripts but should be avoided like the plague in Spec Scripts.

However when I review a screenplay it is obvious that many writers have not understood how to differentiate between TELLING and SHOWING the reader what is happening

Rather than creating visual images so that a scene is instantly seen in the reader’s mind’s eye,  they write the passage from the wrong perspective.  

The way to deal with this is with the Story Beats. Every scene moves forward in a collection of Story Beats.

A Marvel comic is a perfect example. Each individual drawing is a Story Beat. The story board artist transcribes the story into a pictorial flow.

Story Beats’ are the staged structure of a scene. They construct a scene to the point of what you want to establish from the scene.

But they can also mean the positioning of a scene in relationship to the whole.

This takes the concept of highlighting points that are pivotal in the flow of the story and making a road map, before you begin your journey.

Many script guru’s suggest creating a Beat Sheet before you begin on your script. Indication of the use of a Beat Sheet is clearly apparent when a screenplay has a natural feel to it and is a page turner.

This is not achieved by accident, it is meticulously planned both within each scene and how the scene fits in with the complete picture:- The ‘set-up’, the ‘point of no return’ and the ‘no way out’ syndromes just to name three.

It is particularly useful when writing complex action screenplays and helps to maintain the pace and a steady build up to a climax in a concise and clear manner.

Considering Story Beats within a scene is just as necessary as considering the Story Beat of a scene inside the complete picture.

But before all of that you have to describe the scene in a way the reader will immediately visualise the image.

That is where thinking in Story Beats helps you write your descriptive text in “Moments of Movement”.

One method I use is the break an individual scene down to its component parts as Story Beats.

Each BEAT forms an immediate visual impression, (like the Marvel comics).

For example an extract from one of my screenplays:-

“For a while they rummage through the burnt out ruin in silence. (BEAT 1) Jack enters what was the bedroom. (BEAT 2)

He drifts for a moment (BEAT 3) then he spots a charred photograph in a damaged frame. (BEAT 4) He picks it up and studies it. (BEAT 5)

He twists around and glances at Eli on the other side of the building. (BEAT 6).”

By using the Story Beats as an indication of movement gradually the scene takes shape as a visual image leading to a purposeful crescendo and generating the flow into the next scene.

In my opinion it is the biggest reason most amateur writers fail. A lack of forethought regarding timing, pace and the importance of positioning of an incident within a scene and the scene within the total presentation.

That and the ability to SHOW what is happening rather than TELL what happened.

(beat)

A good writer will have an instinct for Story Beats, it is like breathing, a subconscious action the keeps the story alive and moving forward.

Quoted from stevie I use... (is that an ellipse?)

that's an ellipsis

an ellipse is an oval.

Everyone's getting beat up but the OP.  3 Pages and 34 replies later, and the OP has not been heard from again.  

Quoted from mcornetto that's an ellipsis an ellipse is an oval.

Thanks Michael. that means its time for bed....zzzzzzzzzz