Published: September 7, 2021 | Last Updated: June 28, 2024
Staring at the blank page is daunting, and decision fatigue is real. When you can write anything, what do you write?
This “paralysis of indecision” that so many writers feel leads them to turn to external resources to help structure their stories. And with good reason — most films follow the same narrative arc, so why not reverse engineer the model to help your storytelling?
Enter Save the Cat!, a book by Blake Snyder, takes the classic storytelling structure used in the Hollywood arc and cuts it into 15 plot points that writers can use to plot their stories.
These fifteen plot points, written out on their own, are what’s called a beat sheet.
What is a beat sheet?
A beat sheet differs from a film treatment in that it only consists of the film’s main plot points. It’s not used as a sales tool in the same way a film treatment is.
Instead, beat sheets are used by writers to follow their character’s narrative arc throughout a film’s main plot points. The beat sheet is the spark notes of your character’s Hero’s Journey.
For a different storytelling template to help you with your story structure, you can also check out Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon’s Story Circle method.
What is the Save the Cat! Beat Sheet?
Blake Snyder’s beat sheet from Save the Cat! is broken into fifteen steps.
Snyder’s beat sheet is unique in that it explicitly breaks down the page number each beat should be on, denoted at the end of each beat explanation.
- The opening image — An opening image that creates a question in the audience’s mind. (page 1)
- Introduction of a theme — We begin to establish the central theme that the film will explore. (page 5)
- Set-up — The “ordinary world” of the hero and their personal goal (whether consciously stated or subtextual) should be introduced. (page 10)
- Catalyst — The inciting incident (why today?) that pushes the story’s plot in motion occurs. (page 12)
- Debate — The hero is hesitant to accept the call to action for the external goal. (page 12-25)
- Break into two — The hero accepts the call and enters a new world, beginning the second act. (page 25)
- B Story — We enter a new world, with a new subplot to introduce new character(s) to help the hero transition. (page 30)
- Fun and games — A series of challenges begin as the hero tries to achieve their external goal. (page 30-55)
- Midpoint — The stakes get raised as the external goal is in sight. (page 55)
- Bad guys close in — The challenges increase as the hero begins to lose (page 55-75)
- All is lost — The hero hits rock bottom and is as far from their external and internal goal as can be. (page 75)
- Dark night of the soul — In the face of defeat, the hero reconciles with their failure and confronts their fatal flaw to overcome it. (page 75-85)
- Break into three — The hero is energized by a truth that has escaped them this entire time. (page 85)
- Finale — The hero can overcome the villains and seize the day with newfound inner strength and self-awareness. (page 85-110)
- Final image — A final image that mirrors or contrasts the opening so the story comes full circle. (page 110)
Why should you use the Blake Snyder Beat sheet?
There are many benefits to following the above formula from Blake Snyder. It’s a great starting point to break any story idea and see if there’s enough material to tell a full narrative arc with a few broad strokes.
You can easily plug your idea into the above beats and flesh them into a full outline. You will learn quickly if your original idea misses a few key beats along the hero’s journey.
For example, after you plug your plot points into this beat sheet, you discover your script doesn’t have an ‘All is Lost’ moment for the character to crawl back.
Therefore, the audience will feel that the final victory comes too easily without the character having truly changed.
The page counter is also useful for self-assessing if your script hits the mark after writing it.
Most professional readers have specific expectations for when certain plot points should happen and will take score according to the general page count guidelines Snyder shares.
For instance, if your ‘Break into Two’ moment is on page 45 (as has happened to me), then you know the reader will probably feel that your Act One is running way too long.
Why shouldn’t you use the Blake Snyder beat sheet?
Many writers have criticized the formulaic nature of Blake Snyder’s beat sheet, mainly because it dictates the exact page count of when certain plot points should happen in an uncreative, cookie-cutter “write-by-numbers” fashion.
Others prefer looser story structure tools, like Dan Harmon’s 8-beat story circle or Joseph Campbell’s 12-step Hero’s Journey.
Some writers also prefer the gardener’s approach—planting some narrative seeds and seeing what sprouts up along the way.
However, I wouldn’t recommend this approach to first-time writers. I know all too well how easy it is to spend 30 pages on a new idea with no idea where you’re going and then spin out because you don’t have a roadmap.
Why and how seasoned screenwriters use Save The Cat!
Seasoned screenwriters might be more likely to prefer this method, either because they find it more creatively fulfilling or because they detest overly generic plots that are too easy to predict.
Plus, once you become a professional writer, you will likely be asked to provide beat sheets and outlines to share your vision for your project’s story with busy producers and executives who use shorthand narrative framing devices like the Hero’s Journey, Story Circle, or Save the Cat!
As with any writing convention, you should use the Blake Snyder Beat sheet and corresponding page number as guidelines, not an exact science.
Once you become seasoned in story structure, you can play against audience expectations with even greater precision because you know exactly what the audience expects.
See how to write creative pitch decks for pitching your film.
You’ll always need some structure to your storytelling, but playing against expectations is a great way to write compelling narratives that surprise and delight audiences.
Other uses for the Blake Snyder beat sheet
If you want a clear canvas to paint your story on, you can write as much of your idea as possible and then use the beat sheet to help you only when you get stuck.
You can also plug your favorite movies into the Save the Cat! Beat sheet formula to see how they solve their storytelling problems.
Use the Save the Cat! Beat Sheet for novels.
You can also apply Blake Snyder’s beat sheet to novels.
While books are longer than screenplays and don’t translate to the exact page count Blake Snyder wrote, you can proportion a book into percentages equivalent to Save the Cat! Formula.
This is helpful for authors to see how they can compare and apply the Blake Snyder beat sheet to their manuscripts and make sure their storytelling is on point.
What about if you are writing an ensemble? Can you still use this formula?
Finally, you can apply the Blake Snyder beat sheet to writing ensemble scripts, but you must be creative. StudioBinder points this out in a brilliant video they created that compares the film Avengers: Infinity War against the Save the Cat! Beat sheet structure.
What’s interesting about Infinity War is that there are so many heroes that it’s impossible to give them all satisfying journeys. So, how did the screenwriters solve this problem? According to Studio Binder, they gave the hero’s journey to the villain.
Summing Up
For a story to satisfy audiences, they need a character they can follow, even if the film is full of brilliant actors all playing rich characters with competing storylines.
One of those characters needs a full arc that the audience can experience alongside them. Both the audience and that character need to leave the theater having changed.
Find that point of view character and anchor them with the story beats of Blake Snyder, Dan Harmon, or Joseph Campbell.
That way, you should still provide a traditionally satisfying structure to shepherd the audience through the rocky seas of whatever other complicated plot devices or overlapping chaos you want to throw at them.
Up Next: Narrative Structures in Film