Seven-point story beat sheet
Dan Wells's plan: decide the ending first, then build back to the start.
Use it with your book's length
How it works
Author Dan Wells laid out the seven-point story in a talk to other writers. He said he took it from a game master's guide for the Star Trek role-playing game. The trick is the order you plan it in: decide the ending first, then the opening, which should be its opposite, then the midpoint between them. The other points fill in the path.
Because it is only seven points, it's quick to sketch. Many writers do one for the main plot and one for each subplot.
Good for: Plot-heavy stories: fantasy, thrillers and mysteries. Good for planning subplots too.
Watch out: Seven points leaves big gaps. You still need to fill the space between them with scenes.
The 7 beats, and where they fall
| Beat | Where | In 80,000 words |
|---|---|---|
| HookThe hero in a state opposite to how they will end. | 0% | 0 |
| Plot turn 1Something new pushes the hero into the conflict. | 20% | 16,000 |
| Pinch 1Trouble forces the hero to act. | 37% | 29,600 |
| MidpointThe hero stops reacting and takes charge. | 50% | 40,000 |
| Pinch 2Things fall apart. The plan fails and help is gone. | 62% | 49,600 |
| Plot turn 2The hero finds the last piece they need. | 80% | 64,000 |
| ResolutionThe hero does what the story was about. The opposite of the hook. | 95% to 100% | 76,000 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.
- 27-chapter methodThree acts, each cut into three blocks of three chapters. Fill in 27 chapters and you have a plan.
- 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.
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