There is much to say about Jessica Brody’s Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, but today I will focus on one specific detail: assembling the troops. In her novel-writing manual, Brody breaks down the grand finale into five beats, or moments, so that writers have a checklist of sorts to follow. The first of these five beats is assembling the troops. Our main character must gather allies to help them storm his (or her)castle. Sometimes this means that the protagonist must make amends with characters who are upset with him. Sometimes it means convincing unlikely fighters to garner their weapons because their help is needed. In Disney’s The Lion King, Pumba and Timon, along with Nala and the lionesses, are Simba’s troops to help him fight against Scar. Once they pledge their loyalty to Simba, Simba makes them bait for the hyenas. This provides the audience with humor (“are you achin’ for some bacon?”) in an intense and scary scene. But their help is necessary. Simba cannot go alone against Scar and the hyenas. This singular moment in the movie sets up the rest of the grand finale for Simba. In your own writing, who are your protagonist’s troops, and how does he convince them to help?