An action beat is a sentence describing action within a scene. It can help identify which character is speaking and, therefore, remove the need for a dialogue tag. The bolded sentences in the conversation below are examples of action beats.
He tugged at his bottom lip. “I need to tell you something.”
“Okay.”
“I love you. A lot.” He reached across the table and took her hand in his.
She rolled her eyes. “I know that. And you know that I love you. It doesn’t help anything, though.”
“I want to try again. You and me.” When she said nothing, he added, “I want to be with you—only you.”
She pulled her hand away. “No, you don’t. You’re saying that because you feel bad about hurting me. I’m doing fine, Aaron.” She attempted to swallow back the lump forming in her throat. “Go do what you want. Be with who you want.”
Under the table, he tapped her foot with his. “You are who I want.”
How are action beats punctuated?
Unlike dialogue tags, action beats are easy to punctuate. See how each of my action beats in the above conversation begins with a capital letter and ends with a period? They’re independent sentences.
An exception to this easy punctuation is made when an action beat is placed within a line of dialogue. In this case, mark off the interrupting beat with a pair of em dashes. Here’s an example from Nevernight by Jay Kristoff, a book on my TBR list:
“Unless you can fix these spit-machines’ wings”—Tric pointed to the snarling camels—“we’ve gone as far as we’re going to.”
Why use an action beat when I can use a dialogue tag?
Dialogue tags are great, but think about what action beats can do for your scene. Besides identifying the speaker,
Action beats tell your readers about your characters’ personalities. Everyone moves and reacts differently, and when you choose unique action beats for each of your characters, your readers get a sense of your characters’ quirks and habits.
He tugged at his bottom lip. “I need to tell you something.”
My character here has a habit of pulling on his bottom lip when he’s thinking hard or making a decision. He will be the only character in my story who does this.
Knowing more about your characters makes it easier for your readers to become attached and to get hooked into the story.
Action beats show how your characters are feeling. It’s difficult to know the true meaning behind someone’s words when you can’t see or hear how they’re saying something. Text conversations often lead to misunderstandings for this very reason. When your character says, “I just love when you say that to me,” are they rolling their eyes? Or do they have a huge smile on their face?
Reread the paragraph below. I removed one of the original action beats.
She pulled her hand away. “No, you don’t. You’re saying that because you feel bad about hurting me. I’m doing fine, Aaron. Go do what you want. Be with who you want.”
She’s over this guy, right? She’s “fine.”
But return the action beat, and it’s obvious that she is not fine, even though she’s saying otherwise.
She pulled her hand away. “No, you don’t. You’re saying that because you feel bad about hurting me. I’m doing fine, Aaron.” She attempted to swallow back the lump forming in her throat. “Go do what you want. Be with who you want.”
Action beats help you control the pace of your characters’ conversations. Keep the number of action beats low in high-tension conversations. Or create suspense by adding an action beat at a critical moment. In a scene with a more relaxed mood, you can include more beats.
Which action beats are the best to use?
Some action beats are better than others. Use the following tips to guide you:
Avoid clichés. Most editors can tell you, furrowed brows, narrowed eyes, and pursed lips are in every manuscript. These are fine to use, but because so many writers employ these specific action beats, try to think of something more unique before defaulting to the clichéd ones. When you do use them (because sometimes they do fit perfectly) make sure to include each one only once or twice in your whole manuscript.
Avoid repetition. Similar to clichéd action beats are repetitive action beats. You might have written a fantastically unique beat, but if you use it 20 times in your manuscript, it’s going to lose all its power and marvelousness.
Be intentional about the action beats you include. Your action beats should serve a purpose. As discussed above, they can hint at a character’s mood, intention, or personality; they can ground the scene in its setting; and they can help pace the scene. Don’t just throw in any old action beat wherever.
Customize action beats for each of your characters. This is where having fully fleshed-out characters is helpful. When you know all about your characters (i.e., their likes/dislikes, their motivations, their quirks, their pet peeves, their strengths/weaknesses, their wishes/dreams), you can more easily picture them in your head as you write their dialogue. Not only will this create more natural dialogue, but the action beats you write will be tailored to their specific personalities. In this way, you avoid having your characters constantly sighing or running their hands through their hair.
Having a hard time coming up with unique action beats? Go out and do some people watching! Notice how people act and move when they are in various places and situations. Watch the dad running after his toddler in the store. Watch (discreetly!) the couple arguing at the table next to you in a restaurant. You can even go to places where your story is set and watch the interactions of people there. (This obviously will be easier for some scenes than others.) Imagine your character in that situation or setting. Think about their personality. What would they be doing, how would they be feeling, and how would they be acting in that situation?
Also, remember that action beats aren’t all body movements and facial expressions. People don’t often stop everything they’re doing to have a conversation. And they’re not often in an empty room. There are things going on around them that might distract them or interrupt their speech. If it helps, you can sketch out your scene in its setting to get a better idea of how each character might be interacting with their environment during the conversation.
How often should action beats be used?
Using too few action beats creates “Talking Heads Syndrome.” Talking Heads Syndrome pertains to scenes that aren’t grounded in the story’s setting. Readers see only the dialogue and are left wondering about the scene’s context.
Talking Heads Syndrome can also happen when one character has a long monologue that covers several paragraphs. Including a couple of intentional beats will help break up the potential monotony and remind the reader where and when the scene is taking place.
Using too many action beats leaves nothing for your readers to imagine. Readers enjoy getting just enough detail to be able to picture the scene in their heads. But too much description of your characters’ emotions or movements feels tedious, slows the pace of dialogue, and insults your readers’ intelligence. Sometimes the dialogue alone is enough for readers to know that a character is afraid or proud. And a description of every action a character takes while baking a cake with their daughter takes away from the important conversation they’re having while doing it.
Vary your use of action beats.
It’s easy to get into a habit of adding action beats mechanically, but try to refrain from doing this. Look at your scene. Is every line of dialogue preceded by an action beat? Is every line of dialogue followed by an action beat? Does your dialogue follow a predictable pattern of dialogue tag, action beat, dialogue tag, action beat? Don’t let patterns develop! They will quickly become visible (and annoying) to your readers. Switch it up. Vary your use of dialogue tags, action beats, and stand-alone dialogue, without creating a pattern.
Read your scenes out loud. Are the action beats disruptive to the dialogue? Consider removing or repositioning a beat. Are there spots where the scene moves too fast or where readers might lose touch with the scene’s setting? Think about adding a purposeful beat.
As with any other aspect of fiction writing, using action beats effectively takes practice. It’s much easier for me to spot action beat issues in my clients’ writing than it is for me to write them myself. So don’t be discouraged! Keep practicing and keep reading your writing out loud while self-editing.
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