Story Physics: Reaction Beats

Newton’s third law says every action will have an equal but opposite reaction. This is true in stories, too … or at least it should be. The stories that resonate the most—the ones that stick with us long after we’ve read the last page—are the ones where we develop a meaningful connection with the characters. We even see this in action-adventures. Consider, for example, the Marvel movies. Loads of action. The stories twist and turn and layer in subplots and new characters, but at the heart we have flawed heroes with personal motives trying to save the world.

How do we get to know these characters, even as they flit from one conflict-ridden chase scene to the next? Through reaction beats.

Reaction beats show us who your characters really are.

What is a reaction beat?

A reaction beat is literally that: a beat. In the movies, this could mean catching a character’s facial expression during a conversation, or see how they physically react at each point as the plot unfolds. In novels and even in picture books, the reaction beats need to carry a little more oomph. The movie that plays out in everyone’s head will be different, so to understand how a character feels … and how these feelings change over the course of the story … we employ a number of different tools.

The most direct way to convey a reaction beat is to show a character’s direct thought. This could be as short as a sentence or two. Consider a story about a baseball team that hopes to make it to a championship game. There could be multiple layers to the story: friendships, family dynamics, a summer crush. Now imagine the storyline playing out from one game to the next, the stakes getting higher as the team gets closer to the championship. If these scenes are all play by play action, the reader may turn the pages quickly, but there will be no connection to the characters. The danger here is when we get to the climax—where things go wrong and the characters need to regroup—if we haven’t related to the characters up to now, a sudden revelation of emotion won’t be enough to sustain our interest. Each step of the way, after a little action, we need to experience the main character’s reaction.

Reflect Internal Stakes

The danger with writing all-action stories is they tend to take on a tone of this happened, this happened, and then this happened, and over the course of the story we lose sight of why any of the action matters. External stakes aren’t enough to carry the day. We need to be kept aware of the internal emotional stakes, and we need them to build and become higher along with the intensifying action.

Demonstrate How a Character Changes

Reaction beats also serve to show how the character gradually changes over the course of the story. Each time they react to a situation, they handle it slightly differently. The reaction beat is an opportunity to demonstrate the character’s critical thinking as well as their feeling about what’s happening. For example, to use the baseball example above, say the team wins, and then the team wins again but a key player is injured, and then there’s another game. We need a reaction beat after the second game to see what the main character thinks, how he feels about his teammate getting injured. How does it impact him personally? And is there something about what happened that changes his attitude going into the next game? The answers to these questions will remind the reader why the story matters.

Reaction beats should be peppered throughout your story. Imagine an action happening, and then a camera panning to your character. You can show their physical reaction, which will imply how they feel. The physical reaction could be followed by direct thought, or dialogue. For example, to stay with our baseball story, imagine the next scene is the next game. The key player is injured, and our main character is nervous about what the implications will be on the game’s outcome … but he hasn’t thought about how it might negatively affect him. And then this happens:

“Johnny, because Jake’s injured, we have to shuffle things around a bit,” Coach said.
Johnny nodded. Makes sense.
“That means we going to put Timmy at first so Jackson can catch.”
“But Coach—”
“I know you’re disappointed, but we need Timmy’s bat.”
Johnny plunked onto the bench and put his head in his hands. How can he not play me? I’ve been at first for this whole series. Yeah, I struck out a few times, but so what? Everybody does. And Lizzie said she might come to this game. What will she think if she sees me benched, and Timmy playing? It’s all over for me now!
Johnny looked up at his team taking the field. Then he looked over at Jake at the end of the bench, his ankle bulging with the thick bandage wrap. I really wanted to get that championship trophy. But not like this.

Now, logic aside of why someone being injured would bench a starting player, you can see how external factors generate internal pressure, and how this internal pressure manifests as reaction beats. We have a physical reaction, dialogue, and internal thoughts. Without naming any emotions, we have a clear sense of how Johnny feels.

Newton’s LAw Creates Satisfying Stories

When you write your stories, remember Newton’s law, and layer reactions on top of your actions. The more we understand how the character feels about what happens, the more the internal stakes are raised, the more satisfying your story will be.

Struggling with reaction beats? I’d love to help! Contact me and we can find a Good Story Editing service that best fits your needs.