27-chapter method
Three acts, each cut into three blocks of three chapters. Fill in 27 chapters and you have a plan.
Use it with your book's length
How it works
The 27-chapter method spread through writing YouTube and TikTok, made popular by author Kat O'Keeffe. It takes three acts and cuts each act into three blocks: a setup, a conflict and a resolution. Each block is three chapters. Three acts, times three blocks, times three chapters, makes 27.
It's a plan for chapters, so put your chapter count in the calculator. If your book has more or fewer than 27 chapters, the blocks stretch to fit.
Good for: New writers and anyone who plans by chapter. Works for any genre.
Watch out: Real books rarely have exactly 27 chapters. Use the blocks as a guide and let a chapter run long or split in two.
The 9 beats, and where they fall
| Beat | Where | In 80,000 words |
|---|---|---|
| Act 1 setupMeet the hero and their world. Something disturbs it. | 0% to 11% | 0 to 8,889 |
| Act 1 conflictThe hero reacts, tries something and deals with what happens. | 11% to 22% | 8,889 to 17,778 |
| Act 1 resolutionPressure builds until the hero is pushed into the main story. | 22% to 33% | 17,778 to 26,667 |
| Act 2 setupA new world, new rules and new people. | 33% to 44% | 26,667 to 35,556 |
| Act 2 conflictThe midpoint twist lands and changes the goal. | 44% to 56% | 35,556 to 44,444 |
| Act 2 resolutionThe hero commits to a plan, and it costs them. | 56% to 67% | 44,444 to 53,333 |
| Act 3 setupThings fall apart. The lowest point. | 67% to 78% | 53,333 to 62,222 |
| Act 3 conflictThe hero rallies and the final fight builds. | 78% to 89% | 62,222 to 71,111 |
| Act 3 resolutionThe climax, and life after it. | 89% to 100% | 71,111 to 80,000 |
The places are rough guides, not rules. Plenty of good books move a beat by a chapter or two. Put in your own word count and chapters to see your book's numbers.
Other story shapes
- Three acts beat sheetThe classic shape. Act 1 sets things up, act 2 is the long middle, act 3 is the end.
- Four acts beat sheetThree acts with the long middle cut in two at the midpoint.
- Five acts beat sheetRising action to a turning point in the middle, then the fall to the end. The shape of Shakespeare's plays.
- Save the Cat beat sheetBlake Snyder's screenwriting beats, as Jessica Brody laid them out for novels.
- Hero's journeyJoseph Campbell's journey, in Christopher Vogler's 12 steps. A good fit for quests and fantasy.
- Heroine's journeyA journey where the lead wins by building a team, not by fighting alone. After Gail Carriger's book.
- Story CircleDan Harmon's eight steps around a circle: you, need, go, search, find, take, return, change.
- Seven-point story beat sheetDan Wells's plan: decide the ending first, then build back to the start.
- Fichtean curveStart in trouble and never let up. One crisis after another, climbing to the climax.
- KishōtenketsuA four-part shape from China and Japan with no fight at its center: introduce, develop, twist, bring together.
- Romance beat sheetThe usual shape of a love story, in four parts: meet, fall, pull apart, come back together.
- Mystery beat sheetThe usual shape of a whodunit: crime, clues, a wrong answer, then the truth.
Finished your book? See your real page count at BookPublish.app →