What Is a Beat Sheet? A Filled-In Example for Novels and Screenplays
What a beat sheet is, the 15 Save the Cat beats, and a fully filled-in beat sheet example for a novel. Plan yours on the free Save the Cat board in Skrib.
What Is a Beat Sheet? A Filled-In Example for Novels and Screenplays
A beat sheet is a list of the key moments, or beats, in your story, in order. It is shorter than an outline and more useful than a vague idea. One page tells you where the story turns and roughly when.
The most popular one is the Save the Cat beat sheet, created by screenwriter Blake Snyder and adapted for novels. This guide explains the 15 beats and shows a filled-in example on the free Save the Cat board in Skrib.
The 15 beats
Act 1
1. Opening Image: a snapshot of the hero's life before.
2. Theme Stated: someone hints at the lesson.
3. Set-Up: the hero's world and what is missing.
4. Catalyst: the event that changes everything.
5. Debate: the hero hesitates.
Act 2
6. Break into Two: the hero chooses the new world.
7. B Story: a new relationship that carries the theme.
8. Fun and Games: the promise of the premise.
9. Midpoint: a false victory or false defeat.
10. Bad Guys Close In: pressure from outside and inside.
11. All Is Lost: the lowest point.
12. Dark Night of the Soul: the hero sits with it.
Act 3
13. Break into Three: the answer arrives.
14. Finale: the hero proves the change.
15. Final Image: a mirror of the opening, changed.
A filled-in beat sheet example
Here is every beat for Second Helpings, a romance about a chef who inherits her gran's seaside cafe:
Do it in Skrib: write the one-line beat sheet in a note first, then copy each line onto its beat card on the board.
From beat sheet to scenes
On the board, each beat becomes a scene card with the event, the value change and the conflict:
Do it in Skrib: writing a screenplay? The template library also has a Save the Cat board for screenwriters, and your script opens in the same tab.
Beat sheet vs outline
A beat sheet is the skeleton: 15 moments. An outline adds every scene between them. Start with the beat sheet, then grow it into an outline on the free Story Outline & Research template.
FAQ
How long is a beat sheet? One or two pages. One line per beat is fine.
Can I use a beat sheet for a novel? Yes. The beats work the same way, and you can place them by percentage of the book instead of page number.
Make your beat sheet in Skrib
Copy the Save the Cat board, write one line per beat, and turn the beats into scenes. It is free to start.
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