📝 Beat Sheets
The Lake — Dan Harmon's Story Circle
1
You
A character is in a zone of comfort or familiarity.
Who is your protagonist? What is their normal world?
2
Need
But they want something.
What does your character want or need? What desire drives them?
3
Go
They enter an unfamiliar situation.
How do they cross the threshold? What pushes them into the unknown?
4
Search
They adapt to the new situation.
What challenges do they face? How do they navigate the new world?
5
Find
They get what they wanted.
What do they find or achieve? The midpoint revelation or victory.
6
Take
But they pay a heavy price for it.
What is the cost? What consequence or sacrifice comes with getting what they wanted?
7
Return
They return to their familiar situation.
How do they make their way back? What has changed?
8
Change
Having changed.
How is the character fundamentally different? What is the new normal?