Three acts beat sheet
The classic shape. Act 1 sets things up, act 2 is the long middle, act 3 is the end.
Use it with your book's length
How it works
Three acts is the oldest and most common way to plan a story. Act 1 is about the first quarter of the book. It shows the hero's life, then breaks it. Act 2 is the long middle, about half the book, where the hero tries and fails and tries again. Act 3 is the last quarter: the big fight and what comes after.
Most other shapes on this page are three acts with more steps added. Learn this one and the rest are easy to follow.
Good for: Almost any story. If you're not sure, start here.
Watch out: The middle is where most drafts sag. The midpoint and the two pinches are there to keep it moving.
The 9 beats, and where they fall
| Beat | Where | In 80,000 words |
|---|---|---|
| OpeningShow the hero's normal life and what is missing from it. | 0% | 0 |
| Inciting incidentSomething happens that the hero can't ignore. | 12% | 9,600 |
| End of act 1The hero makes a choice and steps into the story. No going back. | 25% | 20,000 |
| First pinchThe other side shows how strong it is. | 37% | 29,600 |
| MidpointA big twist or discovery. The hero stops reacting and starts acting. | 50% | 40,000 |
| Second pinchThe pressure gets worse. Something is lost. | 62% | 49,600 |
| End of act 2The lowest point. The plan has failed. | 75% | 60,000 |
| ClimaxThe final fight or choice. The hero wins or loses. | 88% to 97% | 70,400 to 77,600 |
| ResolutionShow the new normal after the story. | 97% to 100% | 77,600 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
- 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.
- 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.
Finished your book? See your real page count at BookPublish.app →