The heartbeat of a story lies within your story beats or plot points. These are the significant events that occur in your book and drive the story forward.
A Beat Sheet’s Purpose
Every compelling novel must have plot, structure, and character. A beat sheet can help with all three.
Developing a beat sheet will guide you in Pairing Plot with Point, which develops both your plot and your protagonist by pairing their external conflict (plot) with their internal conflict (theme/point). It can also shine a light on potential plot holes, structural issues (order of the beats), and provide a balanced and rhythmic pacing throughout your story through a Cause-&-Affect Trajectory.
Whether you are a pantser, plotter, or somewhere in between, there’s no denying that having a beat sheet is invaluable. If you are a plotter, use it prior to writing as a form of outline to reduce any major rewrites. If you are a pantser, use it between your first draft and your revisions to ensure you’ve hit all the important beats and don’t have any major structural errors.
Basic Beat Sheet
We all saw our first beat sheet in elementary school, which taught us the basic structure of a story and looks something like the following.
- Exposition: Establishes your protagonist’s normal, everyday life. We gain an understanding of their greatest goal or motivation (wants). When the inciting incident happens, your protagonist is forced to make a tough decision or begin a difficult journey.
- Rising Action: Having made their decision, your protagonist actively pursues their goal with complications and obstacles along the way.
- Climax: Your protagonist achieves their goal, only to find out it’s not what they really needed after all.
- Falling Action: Now, your protagonist must deal with the aftermath of achieving their initial goal and decide what to do next in order to attain what they actually need.
- Resolution: Your protagonist finally achieves their ultimate goal (needs) and their life is improved. Everything culminates in a satisfying conclusion, tying the plot (external) and character transformation (internal) together into the theme (point/life lesson).
Bonus: Here’s a fun video of Kurt Vonnegut discussing story arc.
But writing a compelling novel that resonates with your reader is not always as simple as that, is it? In addition, this beat sheet is so simple that it appears as though the climax should be the midpoint of the story, when it should actually appear closer to the end. This is where a more intricately detailed beat sheet saves the day.
Which Beat Sheet Should I Use?
There are countless beat sheets out there, but you will likely notice that they all follow a similar pattern. That’s because it’s a tried-and-true pattern that has been proven successful time and time again in books spanning multiple generations, including classics such as A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Emma by Jane Austen, and The Color Purple by Alice Walker, as well as more modern favorites such as the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, The Shining by Stephen King, and Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella.
You can choose any beat sheet that resonates with you or create your own, but my personal favorite comes from Jessica Brody’s Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, which is what I will explore in this article.
Save-the-Cat Beat Sheet
Brody’s Save-the-Cat beat sheet is comprised of fifteen beats within three acts. You’ll notice that some beats are single-scene beats (they happen quick and are concise) while others are multi-scene beats (they can happen over multiple scenes or even multiple chapters). Additionally, some beats overlap with others.
The percentages listed are approximations of where the beat is usually found in successful stories. You can adapt this beat sheet to best fit your story, with some flexibility in the order and exact location of each beat. But it’s important to note that all fifteen beats must be present to craft a compelling story that will resonate with your reader.
The following is a basic rundown of the Save-the-Cat beat sheet, followed by a downloadable version with space to write (see Additional Resources below). But I do highly recommend that you read Brody’s book to grasp the nuances of each beat and get the best out of this beat sheet.
Act 1: The Thesis (0 – 20%)
In beats 1 – 5, Act I sets up your protagonist’s status quo world before anything changes.
1. Opening Image: (single-scene beat) 0 – 1%
A visual that instantly hooks your reader and sets the tone, style, and mood of your novel.
2. Theme Stated: (single-scene beat) 5%
A statement is made, typically by a supporting character, that voices your protagonist’s greatest flaw and need for transformation. This lets the reader know what your book will be about (the life lesson your protagonist will learn by the end of the novel).
3. Setup: (multi-scene beat) 1 – 10%
Reveals your protagonist’s everyday life including their goals and motivations (wants/external goals); shows your protagonist at home, work, and play and includes the A-Story characters (those who currently exist within your protagonist’s world); and exposes your protagonist’s flaws and the things that need fixing.
4. Catalyst: (single-scene beat) 10%
The life-changing moment or inciting incident that sets the story in motion by forcing your protagonist to make a choice or a change. It’s important to note that the Catalyst must be something that happens to your protagonist. Make it BIG.
5. Debate: (multi-scene beat) 10 – 20%
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, and for every catalyst, there is a debate. Your protagonist reacts to the life-altering catalyst from the last beat, often reluctant at first (no one accepts change right away). This beat may also include physical, mental, and emotional preparation for the journey.
Act 2: The Antithesis (20 – 80%)
In beats 6 – 12, Act II illustrates the upside-down version of your protagonist’s status quo world of Act I. During Act II, they try to fix things the wrong way (wants/external).
6. Break Into Two: (single-scene beat) 20%
This is the point of no return where your protagonist determines to accept the challenge by stepping into a new world and way of thinking. This must be their choice.
7. B-Story: (single-scene beat) 22%
The secondary story or a subplot that often involves love, friendship, or mentorship is introduced. This includes the B-Story character(s) whose purpose is to bring out your protagonist’s flaws, make them want to change, and guide them in learning the theme (life lesson/point) of the novel.
8. Fun & Games: (multi-scene beat) 20 – 50%
This is the biggest beat in your entire novel and focuses on delivering the “promise of the premise,” often used in the blurb. Vary the action here with a “bouncing ball” narrative of up, down, up, down, etc., but ensure there is an overall direction toward either success or failure (a mostly upward or downward path). Show your protagonist either seemingly succeeding or failing in this new upside-down world as they pursue their goal (wants/external).
9. Midpoint: (single-scene beat) 50%
Predictably, the midpoint is the halfway mark of the story, the second act, and your protagonist’s transformation. Although this is a single-scene beat, it is the pivot point of your novel and should pack a punch. It must include:
- False Victory/Defeat: Depending on the general trajectory of your protagonist’s path in the Fun & Games beat, your protagonist will now experience either a false victory (upward path) or a false defeat (downward path). Maybe they realize they will never get what they want, or maybe they do get what they want but realize it’s not what they expected or really need. Either way, your protagonist still hasn’t learned the theme and there is more growth to come.
- Raise the Stakes: This is the time to raise the stakes and increase the tension by adding a ticking clock, ramping up the love story, throwing in a surprise twist, or having the protagonist attend a big celebration.
- A-Story Meets B-Story: It’s also necessary to have your A-Story (external) and B-Story (internal) intersect in some way here, offering a subtle shift from your protagonist’s wants (external) to their needs (internal).
10. Bad Guys Close In: (multi-scene beat) 50 – 75%
As the second largest beat of your novel, your protagonist will now follow the opposite trajectory from the Fun & Games beat. If they were on a mostly upward path before, they will now travel downward, or vice versa. Despite the overall trajectory, you should again use the “bouncing ball” narrative throughout this beat to keep your readers on their toes. Continually increase the stakes and tension as the bad guys close in and your protagonist heads toward the final showdown of the climax. Keep in mind that these bad guys can be literal or figurative; external or internal; a person, thing, or even a force—whatever is getting in the way of your protagonist reaching their goal.
11. All Is Lost: (single-scene beat) 75%
As authors, we don’t like hurting our characters, but there’s just no more avoiding it at this point—your protagonist must fall. In this rock-bottom catalyst beat, the thing your protagonist most feared comes true, and now all hope is seemingly lost. It’s important to note that this must happen to your protagonist, but it should also be at least somewhat your protagonist’s fault because they still haven’t learned the theme. Make it REAL and make it BIG (bigger than the original Catalyst). A “whiff of death” can assist with this, whether in the form of characters or a pet (almost) dying, a dead plant, or the death of a relationship or career. Whatever shape it takes, something must end here. Now your protagonist is worse off than when they started.
12. Dark Night of the Soul: (multi-scene beat) 75 – 80%
And so begins the wallowing, anger, denial, and reflection with this reaction beat. Your protagonist needs to process everything that has happened so far and try to understand why they haven’t been able to achieve their goal to improve their life. This is their darkness-before-the-dawn moment and the only time in the story where your protagonist is allowed to move backward into something familiar or return to where they started—getting back together with an ex, visiting their family home, returning to an previous job, or reuniting with an old friend. The problem is that this space no longer feels familiar or safe because, while it has remained the same, your protagonist has changed.
Act 3: The Synthesis (80 – 100%)
In beats 13 – 15, Act III shows the brand-new world that is the fusion of your protagonist’s status quo world of Act I and the upside-down version of Act II. In Act III, they finally figure out what they actually need to fix things the right way (needs/internal).
12. Break Into Three: (single-scene beat) 80%
This is the breakthrough moment where your protagonist has a “Dark Night epiphany.” Through reflection in the last beat, new information comes to light or something already in front of them becomes clearer. They finally learn the theme (life lesson) and understand how to fix things the right way.
14. Finale: (multi-scene beat) 80 – 99%
This is the moment your reader has been waiting for: the big showdown between your protagonist and their nemesis (remember, this could be a person, thing, or force), after which your protagonist is completely transformed. For your novel to be compelling and really resonate with your reader, your protagonist must work hard for the win in this Finale (or if they fail instead, ensure there is a point or a life lesson to be learned from it). The Finale is an intricate beat and arguably the most important one of your entire novel. It’s best broken down into five sub-beats.
- Sub-Beat 1 – Gathering the Team: Your protagonist makes any necessary amends and gathers allies or tools to carry out their plan.
- Sub-Beat 2 – Executing the Plan: The plan is put into action. There is a sense of impossibility, while at the same time a growing sense of accomplishment as they make progress. If your protagonist gathered a team, they start to drop off (B-Story Sacrifice), because in the end, your protagonist must do this alone.
- Sub-Beat 3 – The High Tower Surprise: Curveball! Just when your protagonist believes they might succeed, something happens (another catalyst) to check their confidence and remind them it can’t possibly be that easy.
- Sub-Beat 4 – Dig Deep Down: Your protagonist reacts to the catalyst of the last sub-beat by altering their plan and determining what to do next. Through the major flaw your protagonist had to overcome, they now provide proof that they’ve changed by taking a leap of faith and deciding to do something they never would have done at the beginning of the story (theme/life lesson).
- Sub-Beat 5 – Executing the New Plan: Your protagonist puts their altered plan into action, proving once and for all that they are transformed for the better. They have earned their victory.
15. Final Image: (single-scene beat) 99 – 100%
Opposite to the Opening Image, the Final Image is one last view of your now-transformed protagonist living their new life in their newly fused Act III world. This mirror image reflects exactly how much your protagonist has grown since the opening of the novel.
THE END.
Where Do I Start?
Woo . . . That was a lot! You might be feeling a little overwhelmed right now with where to even begin and whether you have fifteen beats to fit this beat sheet. Take a breath and start small.
Step One
Brody advises that you begin with the three main components of your hero:
- a problem
- a want/goal
- a need
You may also want to use my Character Bible Toolkit to sit down with your protagonist and really get to know who they are so you understand what kind of story they want you to tell (see Additional Resources below).
Step Two
Next, move into the Five Foundation Beats:
- Catalyst
- Break Into Two
- Midpoint
- Break Into Three
- All Is Lost
These are the most important beats to nail down, but once you do, the rest should practically fall into place.
Additional Resources
- Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
- Save the Cat novel writing software
- The Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell
- Reedsy’s Story Structure: 7 Narrative Structures All Writers Should Know provides an overview of multiple structures you could choose from
- My Tips for Writers article titled Finding Comps to Pitch Your Book covers the ten Save-the-Cat story genres
- For romance authors:
- Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes (interweave these beats into your main beat sheet)
- My Tips for Writers article Four Beats of Romance
- FREE downloads!
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