If you've ever tried to outline a story and ended up buried in sticky notes and second-guessing, you're not alone. Story structure is one of the hardest things to get right, and one of the easiest to overthink.
That’s where Save the Cat comes in.
What Is Save the Cat?
The name comes from a beat in the first act: if you want readers to root for your character, have them “save a cat.” Do something kind. Show a moment of vulnerability or decency. That beat earns the audience's trust, and the rest of the structure builds on that same instinct.
Screenwriter Blake Snyder introduced it in his 2005 book, Save the Cat!, as a beat sheet that could make any story hit harder and faster. It took off because it made story structure feel accessible to writers who found The Hero’s Journey too abstract or bloated. The method exploded in popularity because it works. Writers across fiction, memoir, and film use it to produce commercially successful stories that feel grounded.
The core idea is that every story follows an emotional rhythm. Save the Cat maps that rhythm across 15 beats; each one a moment of change, tension, or clarity. These beats don’t tell you what to write. They show you where to aim: when to raise stakes, when to ask big questions, when to pull the floor out from under your protagonist.
The 15 Save the Cat Story Beats
Save the Cat is not a rigid formula, but a framework that helps stories breathe with momentum and meaning.
How the 15 Beats Fit into the 3-Act Structure
The Save the Cat method maps onto the classic three-act structure:
Act One (Beats 1–5): Sets up the world, theme, and inciting incident.
Act Two (Beats 6–12): Confronts the central challenge, raising stakes and testing growth.
Act Three (Beats 13–15): Resolves the story through final transformation and payoff.
Here are the 15 Save the Cat beats:
1. Opening Image
This is the very first moment the reader sees your story world and your protagonist before the change begins. It sets the tone, mood, and emotional baseline. In a screenplay, it should be the first 1–2 pages. In a novel, it should land within the first few paragraphs or the opening chapter.
The best Opening Images are more than scenery or action; they’re snapshots of stasis. They show your protagonist’s everyday reality, belief system, or core flaw in motion. They give you a sense of what’s broken or off-kilter, even if you don’t know why yet.
It’s not just about atmosphere; however, it’s about contrast. This moment becomes a mirror for your Final Image, showing how far the character (or world) has come. That’s what gives your arc emotional weight.
If you’re still shaping your big idea, this breakdown on What is a Novel and How to Write One will help you pair strong structure with purpose.
2. Theme Stated
This is the moment your story poses its biggest question. What’s this about? What idea is going to get tested, challenged, and redefined?
The Theme Stated beat happens early, within the first 5–10% of your story, and many writers disguise it as casual dialogue, a throwaway comment, or a small moment of friction. It shouldn’t sound like a lecture. The point isn’t to preach, it’s to plant a seed.
At this stage, your protagonist doesn’t understand or agree with the theme. They can laugh it off, ignore it, or argue against it, but that’s the point. This is the truth they’ll only come to understand after everything that follows.
3. Set-Up
The Set-Up beat is where the reader steps into the story. This is the part where you flesh out your protagonist’s world; not just what it looks like, but how it feels to live there. You see who the protagonist is, what they care about, and what’s holding them back.
You’ll introduce key relationships, values, routines, and emotional friction. This beat also clarifies what the protagonist wants and what they need. The two are not always the same.
The strongest Set-Ups plant mini-payoffs for later. Side characters you introduce here will reappear at turning points. A casual argument can foreshadow a deeper belief that needs breaking. This is the ground your story will shake later, so build it well.
4. Catalyst
This is the spark that kicks the story into motion. Something (an event, discovery, or twist) disrupts the status quo that challenges everything the protagonist thought was stable. It doesn’t just push them toward change; it requires it.
The Catalyst should land around the 10% mark of the story. It can be big or subtle, but it must matter. It creates a fork in the road. Life, as they knew it, couldn’t go on unchanged.
The protagonist might not act right away (that’s what the Debate beat is for), but this is where the audience starts leaning forward. This is the moment that says, “This is what the story’s about.”
5. Debate
The Debate beat is where resistance sets in. The protagonist doesn’t leap into action just yet; they hesitate, rationalize, and deflect. It’s their last grasp at staying comfortable before change begins.
This section occupies the space between the Catalyst and the Break into Two. It’s where doubt creeps in. The protagonist questions their ability, safety, or even the point of trying. The longer they linger here, the higher the tension builds. The audience knows change is coming; they just don’t know if your character is ready.
Debate beats make characters human. Fear, indecision, self-sabotage; it all lives here. But this resistance makes the eventual pivot feel earned.
6. Break into Two
This is the moment your protagonist stops hovering on the edge and enters the story’s second act. Whether the decision is bold, reluctant, or made for them, the world has now changed, and so have the stakes.
Act One is about resisting change. Act Two is about confronting it. This beat marks the crossing of a threshold into unfamiliar territory. It could be physical (a new setting), emotional (a new risk), or relational (a new dynamic). The rules are different here, and your protagonist must adapt or fail.
This is also where tone shifts. If Act One felt safe and known, Act Two feels wide open and full of pressure. That’s the fuel that propels the narrative forward.
7. B Story
The B Story enters right as Act Two begins, but it’s not just a subplot. It’s the emotional compass of your story.
This beat introduces a new relationship or thematic thread that helps the protagonist grow. It can be a romantic interest, a mentor, a rival, or even a belief system that challenges the protagonist’s worldview. The B Story offers contrast and perspective.
In Save the Cat, the A Story is the main external plot; the tangible goal your protagonist is pursuing. It’s the visible action: what they’re doing and what’s at stake in the world around them. The B Story, by contrast, is emotional. It’s where the character wrestles with fear, belief, or identity, for example, through the relationship introduced here. While the A Story shows what’s happening, the B Story reveals what it means. Together, they form a complete arc of change.
8. Fun and Games
This is the “promise of the premise”; the stretch where your premise gets to strut. The Fun and Games beat delivers on what your audience came for: training montages, messy makeovers, mistaken identities, first dates, secret missions, or escalating chaos. This is where the story lives out its promise.
But it’s not always “fun” in a literal sense. It’s fun because it’s satisfying; it’s the character in action, engaging with the world of Act Two.
In this section, the protagonist is still learning the rules of the new world. Wins and losses can feel temporary, but they give momentum. This is where stakes grow, tension builds, and tone shines.
9. Midpoint
This is the emotional center of the story, and the turning point that splits the second act in two.
The Midpoint brings a major win or loss. It can be a sudden reversal, a moment of clarity, or a bold declaration. Whatever form it takes, it raises the stakes and changes the game. After this, there’s no going back.
Up until now, your protagonist has been reacting. But here, they start acting, even if it’s not perfect. The external plot sharpens, but the internal conflict deepens. The Midpoint reframes the story: either you (and the protagonist) realize what’s going on, or you glimpse the price of failure.
10. Bad Guys Close In
Now the heat turns up. Whether your “bad guys” are literal villains, internal flaws, mounting pressure, or time itself, this beat is where they start closing in.
Things can still look good on the surface (like if your Midpoint was a win), but underneath, cracks begin to spread. Doubt creeps in. Support systems falter. Enemies sharpen their claws. The protagonist can cling to their initial tactics, but the story is already shifting out from under them.
This is a pressure cooker beat. It sets up the fall to come, and makes sure the audience feels it before it hits.
11. All Is Lost
This is the crash point. Everything your protagonist hoped, fought, or schemed for is gone. The plan fails. The team breaks. The thing they feared finally happens, or they become the thing they swore they wouldn’t.
This beat is painful by design. It creates space for transformation. Something precious is lost, whether it’s trust, an ally, status, hope, or self-belief. This emotional collapse is what allows the next beat to matter.
You’ll see a symbolic moment here: a shattered object, a funeral, or even a literal “whiff of death” that marks what’s been broken.
12. Dark Night of the Soul
This is the beat of reflection, surrender, and raw honesty. After the collapse of “All Is Lost,” your protagonist sits in the rubble, not just of the story’s events, but of their own identity.
What they believed would work didn’t. Who they thought they were no longer holds true. This is where doubt, shame, or grief hit hardest. But hidden inside this moment is the seed of clarity.
This is where your character stares their flaw, fear, or failure in the face. Not all stories have a full monologue or mirror scene here, but inside, something shifts. The decision they make next won’t come from pride or panic; it’ll come from growth.
13. Break into Three
After the storm comes clarity. This beat marks the protagonist’s emergence from the emotional wreckage with a new mindset, shaped by failure and self-honesty. It’s the moment they pivot, not just because they must, but because they finally can.
Break into Three signals the start of Act Three. A new plan forms, rooted not in ego or fear, but in understanding. The insight that unlocks this beat comes from the B Story: a realization, lesson, or connection that shifts everything into place.
It’s not just a new tactic; it’s a new approach to the self, the problem, and the stakes.
14. Finale
This is the story’s climax; not just the final fight or resolution, but the culmination of everything your protagonist has learned. Their choices here reflect real growth. They don’t just win, they win in a different way than they would have in Act One.
The Finale must show change. That doesn’t always mean triumph; it means agency. It means the protagonist now understands what’s worth fighting for and how to fight for it in a way that reflects who they’ve become.
This is also where all the threads come together: the A Story, the B Story, the themes, and the character arc. It should feel inevitable, but not predictable.
15. Final Image
This is the story’s emotional echo. It closes the loop and lets your reader feel the change. The Final Image doesn’t have to be dramatic; it just has to be earned.
It’s a visual or symbolic moment that mirrors the Opening Image, now altered by everything that’s come before. If the Opening Image showed isolation, this one can show connection. If it began with silence, this ends with a voice raised. It gives the reader closure, not just about what happened, but about what it meant.
Here’s a Save the Cat beat sheet template with prompts to help you get started:
How to Use Save the Cat in Different Formats
Story structure isn’t one-size-fits-all, and the Save the Cat method exemplifies this. Whether you’re working on a sprawling novel, a visual screenplay, or a short story, this beat sheet can still guide your pacing and emotional arc. You just have to adapt the rhythm to fit your form.
Using Save the Cat for Novels
Novels have room to breathe, which means you can stretch certain beats and spend more time on internal arcs. In longform fiction, it’s not just about what happens, it’s about what it means. That’s why beats like Debate, B Story, and Dark Night of the Soul carry more emotional depth in novels than they do in screenplays.
You’ll also notice that page counts aren’t as strict. Instead of aiming for Catalyst on page 12, you’ll focus on placement relative to your total word count.
For example, in a 90,000-word novel, the Midpoint can land around the 45,000-word mark, but it doesn’t have to. What matters is how that beat shifts your protagonist’s stakes and trajectory.
Wondering how long your story should be? Check out How Many Words in a Novel: Complete Guide to help align your beat sheet pacing with your target word count.
Writers of various genres will find Save the Cat helpful. It gives a flexible structure without muting voice or style. Even in more literary work, the beats can add clarity to plot movement or reveal turning points in a character’s internal journey.
Example: In The Hunger Games (YA dystopian), Break into Two happens when Katniss boards the train to the Capitol, entering the Games’ world. In Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine (upmarket fiction), the shift into Act Two is more internal: Eleanor decides to improve her social skills in hopes of changing her life.
Using Save the Cat for Screenplays
Screenplays are where the Save the Cat method started, and where it thrives. With most scripts clocking in around 90–110 pages, beat placement becomes an exercise in precision. Each beat lands on a specific page, down to the number:
Catalyst: Page 12
Break into Two: Page 25
Midpoint: Page 55
Break into Three: Page 85
Finale: Page 90–100
Because screenplays rely on visuals, each beat must carry weight through action, dialogue, or setting, not internal narration. This makes STC (Save the Cat) valuable for pacing: it ensures you don’t spend 40 pages lingering in setup when the audience is itching for change.
The beats also help writers pitch their work. A producer or reader scanning your script can identify key shifts in tone, stakes, and emotion. It’s a format that rewards clarity, escalation, and payoff, and Save the Cat helps you hit all three.
Tip: If you’re writing for the screen, consider printing a physical beat sheet template and pinning plot points to your page numbers. This visual alignment keeps the script moving and keeps your revisions focused.
Want to go deeper into screenplay formatting and structure? Read How to Write a Screenplay in 15 Steps to pair story beats with formatting basics.
Using Save the Cat for Short Stories
Short stories aren’t too small for structure; you just need to compress them. Save the Cat still applies, but the beats fold inward and overlap instead of spreading across chapters. Think of it as story scaffolding, not blueprinting.
In short fiction (like pieces under 3,000 words), many beats happen within the same paragraph. You’ll see the Opening Image and Theme Stated combined into your first line. The Catalyst arrives mid-paragraph, and the Debate transitions into action.
Your job is to maintain emotional clarity, even when the beats are subtle. One of the most important beats in short stories is Dark Night of the Soul, the internal flicker of doubt or change that makes the ending land. Even if it’s just one line, it should feel earned.
The Fun and Games beat becomes the heart of your story idea in motion, the hook that makes your concept feel active. This could be a sci-fi twist, an interpersonal confrontation, or a surreal sequence unfolding in real time.
Example: In a 1,000-word flash story about a woman receiving mysterious notes at her bookstore job, the entire beat sheet can be compressed into five paragraphs of 150–200 words each. The Opening Image and Theme Stated appear in the first few lines. The Catalyst strikes mid-paragraph, and the Debate beat folds directly into the protagonist’s next action. Even though the structure is compact, the emotional beats still land: set-up, twist, doubt, decision, and fallout all echo the Save the Cat rhythm, just in miniature.
Want a jumpstart? The Squibler AI Short Story Generator can help you explore new story angles and draft scenes based on your beat sheet.
Save the Cat Story Genres
One of Blake Snyder’s most helpful (and misunderstood) contributions wasn’t just his beat sheet; it was his genre reframe. Instead of defining genre by setting or tropes, he focused on story structure and character arcs. In other words, what kind of journey is this?
Snyder proposed ten narrative genres that reflect the emotional and structural DNA of a story. Each one comes with a baked-in tone, core conflict, and thematic promise. Once you know what shape your story is trying to take, plotting becomes a whole lot easier.
These genres help answer questions like:
What is the main tension the protagonist faces?
What emotional payoff should the ending deliver?
How should the story escalate, and why?
Here’s a table showing the 10 story types Snyder outlined:
The 10 Save the Cat Story Genres
How to Use These Genres in Your Writing
Identifying your story’s genre early on can save you from structural confusion later. But these genres aren’t boxes, they’re guides. Your story can lean strongly into one or blend elements of several. For instance, a character facing grief (Rites of Passage) can also take on a powerful institution (Institutionalized). The goal isn’t to force your story into a single category, but to use these lenses to understand your structure and emotional arc better.
How to Start Your Own Save the Cat Outline
You don’t need a polished plot to start outlining with Save the Cat. All you need is a spark: a rough story idea, a character dilemma, or even a mood. This method works best when you build into it, not around it.
Start Small
Begin with three anchors:
Catalyst – What changes your character’s world?
Midpoint – What major shift escalates the stakes or changes the direction?
All Is Lost – When does everything seem to fall apart?
These three beats alone will give you enough emotional scaffolding to test your story’s shape. From there, you can layer the others in, backfilling where necessary, shifting beats as the story deepens.
Pro tip: Don’t outline in a chronological format. Jump around. Let the emotional high points reveal the rest.
Use Tools to Stay Flexible
Instead of scribbling in scattered notebooks, try using a flexible outline tool like Squibler’s Novel Idea Generator to help kickstart your concept. It gives you unique angles, settings, and conflicts you can build your beats around.
Then move to Squibler’s writing dashboard to plug in your Catalyst, Midpoint, and All Is Lost moments. You can drag and reorder scenes later as your characters start taking the wheel.
You don’t need to nail everything before you begin writing. Write a few early scenes before your outline is “done.” That’s the best way to test if the beats hold up under pressure. And if you need help with outlining, you can use Squibler’s Book Generator to generate your outline and develop your story from there.
Want a more step-by-step companion to your beat sheet? Try this guide to How to Outline a Novel in 7 Steps, built for flexible planning.
Final Thoughts
Save the Cat’s beats are there to help you build momentum, stay grounded, and figure out what’s missing when your story’s off-track. However, you don’t need to hit every beat with a hammer. Some will blur, bend, and some will not even show up until revision. But when you're stuck in the swamp of Act Two or staring down an ending that won’t land, this method can offer the structure you need to get moving again.
Because at the end of the day, structure doesn’t limit your creativity; it makes space for it to shine.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about Save the Cat:
What is the Save the Cat method?
Save the Cat is a storytelling structure that breaks a story into 15 emotional beats. Developed by screenwriter Blake Snyder, it helps writers pace their plots in a way that keeps readers or viewers hooked. It’s flexible enough for novels, screenplays, short stories, and even memoirs. The goal isn’t to follow it to the letter, but to use it as a blueprint for emotional payoff.
What is the B story in Save the Cat?
The B Story is the subplot that runs alongside the main story arc. It is relational, emotional, or thematic. It can be a friendship, romance, mentorship, or internal struggle that helps the protagonist grow. It reveals the deeper theme and supports the character’s transformation as they enter the midpoint and finale.
What is the first Save the Cat book?
The first book in the Save the Cat series is Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder, published in 2005. It introduced the 15-beat story structure and laid the foundation for the storytelling method that would grow into a full framework for writers across media.
How many Save the Cat books are there as of 2025?
There are currently five main Save the Cat books:
Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder (2005)
Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies (2007)
Save the Cat! Strikes Back (2009)
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody (2018)
Save the Cat! Writes for TV by Jamie Nash (2021)
Each one builds on the original concept, tailoring the method to specific formats like novels and television writing.
