Save the Cat beat sheet: All 15 beats explained

A Save the Cat beat sheet is a story plan commonly organized into 15 key moments, from Blake Snyder’s 2005 book, Save the Cat!. For the broader picture, read the screenplay structure guide.

What is the Save the Cat beat sheet?

Save the Cat beat sheet

Also called Blake Snyder beat sheet

A Save the Cat beat sheet is a story plan commonly arranged in a named sequence, from Opening Image to Final Image. For example, a family dinner story can move from someone refusing help to accepting it.

Beat

A beat is commonly a moment when something changes in the story. An oven breaking before a birthday dinner gives the cook a problem to address.

These are Snyder’s beat names in order, with their commonly described functions explained in original wording.

1. Opening Image: Show the main character’s life before change, suggesting how the story will feel.
2. Theme Stated: Someone hints at the lesson the main character doesn’t yet understand.
3. Set-Up: Establish everyday life and the trouble or absence within it.
4. Catalyst: Introduce an event that disrupts that life and starts the story moving.
5. Debate: Let the character consider whether to respond and what to do.
6. Break into Two: Have the character commit to action beyond their familiar life.
7. B Story: Develop a secondary storyline, often a relationship that helps the character learn.
8. Fun and Games: Explore the situations that made the story’s central idea appealing.
9. Midpoint: Turn events toward apparent success or failure, with more to gain or lose.
10. Bad Guys Close In: Increase outside pressure while the character’s shortcomings make matters worse.
11. All Is Lost: Deliver a loss that makes the goal seem unreachable.
12. Dark Night of the Soul: Give the character room to absorb that loss before acting again.
13. Break into Three: Let lessons from the main and secondary stories suggest a new approach.
14. Finale: Put that learning into action during the decisive conflict, changing the character’s world.

What happens in the opening beats?

The opening beats commonly move from familiar life through disruption to a choice. Lea refuses help with her mother’s birthday dinner, then discovers her oven has failed. After hesitating, she decides to use her sister’s kitchen. For more on the initial disruption, read what an inciting incident does.

What happens in the middle beats?

The middle beats commonly test the character’s approach until its cost becomes clear. Lea gets dinner underway in her sister’s kitchen, but keeps rejecting her suggestions. Her sister leaves, and Lea burns the food while trying to handle everything. Alone in the kitchen, Lea faces what her refusal to accept help has cost.

What happens in the final beats?

The final beats commonly turn learning into action and show the resulting change. Lea apologizes and asks her sister to help organize a dinner everyone contributes to. When the guests arrive, she lets her sister arrange the table. The ending shows her accepting help through a visible choice.

How do you use a beat sheet without writing by formula?

Use the beat names to examine your character’s choices, rather than inventing events merely to fill labels. Lea’s failed dinner matters because refusing help contributes to the failure.

What are the limits of a beat sheet?

Treat a completed beat sheet as a plan to test, not proof that your scenes work. “Lea accepts help” still needs an action the audience can see, such as handing her sister the serving bowl. Compare this method with three-act screenplay structure.

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