Start a Beat Board with an act

Steps

1. Click Board.

   An empty board says Your Beat Board is empty. Scene Cards are short reminders of what happens in each scene. Drag them until the story works. Start shaping the story. Add an Act, Sequence, Beat, or Scene Card, or drag an idea from your Idea Vault. The buttons are Add Scene and Add Act.

   Windows screen: Board empty

2. Click Add in the toolbar.

   The menu offers Act, Sequence, Beat, Scene Card (Ctrl+N) and, below a divider, From Idea Vault…. Sequence needs an act to exist first. From Idea Vault… takes you to the Idea Vault, where Send to Story puts an idea on the board.

   Windows screen: Board empty add menu

3. Click Add Act, or choose Act in the Add menu. Type a name in the box, for example Act 1: The Return, and press Enter.

   The box is called Act title and shows Act title, e.g. Act 1: The Return. Enter saves the act. Esc cancels. Clicking out of the box also saves what you typed.

   Windows screen: Board empty new act input

4. To add another act later, click Add Act after the last act.

   A new act name box opens at the end of the row of acts.

   Windows screen: Board new act input

5. Look at the result.

   Each act shows its name and the number of scenes it holds. Under it are the Scene, Sequence and Beat buttons that add inside that act.

   Windows screen: Board filled

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