To
Beat or Not to Beat
What
is a beat? And what is its purpose? A beat is a little bit of action that can
involve physical gestures. They are used to remind you of who your characters
are and what they are doing. An example of a beat is:
“Where are you going?” Charlie grabbed
her arm, his fingers digging into her flesh.
They can increase the tension where needed or they
can give the reader a bit of relief where the tension is really great.
A
reasonable balance is necessary or you can interfere with the flow of the
scene. You have a scene where the dialogue is building the tension (example: an
argument that is increasing in tension and building toward a critical moment
such as a murder). Too many beats can interfere or disrupt the tension and make
the murder scene less exciting. This can damage the flow of your scene and keep
your scene from building. In other words, it can slow you pacing. The result
can be the loss of your reader’s interest. So your goal should be a proper
balance between dialogue and beats.
Interestingly
beats can be used to vary the rhythm of your dialogue. Remember, good dialogue
has an ebb and flow to it. The areas where the tension is high you need to cut
the beats to a bare minimum. If you have two high-tension scenes in a row, you
should allow your readers to relax in the next scene with some quiet
conversation containing more beats.
If
you are not sure just where to put a beat, read your scene out loud. Where you
find yourself pausing between two consecutive lines, insert a beat.
Beats
can be used to define your character. A good example of this is body language. It
can allow breathing room in an emotionally tense scene. To reinforce the point
I’m trying to make, beats can accomplish three things: 1) They can increase
tension; 2) They can allow breathing space for the reader; 3) They can define
your character.
In
looking over your scene(s) there are some questions you should ask yourself:
1.
How many beats do I have? Try highlighting them.
2.
How often am I interrupting the dialogue?
3.
What are the beats describing?
4.
How often am I repeating a beat?
5.
Do the beats help illuminate the character?
6.
Do the beats fit the rhythm of the dialogue? Read it out loud.
Faye M. Tollison
Author of: To Tell the Truth
Upcoming books: The Bible Murders
Sarah’s Secret
Member of: Sisters in Crime
Writers on the Move
