Free tool

Beat sheet calculator for novels

Enter your word count and chapters to see where every turning point should land, for the 15-beat Save the Cat! structure or three acts. Then copy the sheet and fill in your scenes.

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Your beat sheet

88,000 words in 32 chapters of about 2,750 words each.

Opening Image
A snapshot of the hero's life before the story changes it.
Where
0% to 1%
Word
1 to 880
Chapter
1
Theme Stated
Someone hints at the lesson the hero needs to learn, usually without the hero noticing.
Where
5%
Word
4,400
Chapter
2
Setup
The hero's world, their flaws and what is missing from their life, before anything changes.
Where
1% to 10%
Word
880 to 8,800
Chapter
1 to 4
Catalyst
The event that knocks the hero's life off course.
Where
10%
Word
8,800
Chapter
4
Debate
The hero hesitates and weighs what to do about it.
Where
10% to 20%
Word
8,800 to 17,600
Chapter
4 to 7
Break Into Two
The hero makes a choice and steps into a new world or a new way of living.
Where
20%
Word
17,600
Chapter
7
B Story
A new relationship or subplot that will help carry the theme.
Where
22%
Word
19,360
Chapter
8
Fun and Games
The promise of the premise: the hero in the new world, succeeding or struggling.
Where
20% to 50%
Word
17,600 to 44,000
Chapter
7 to 16
Midpoint
A false victory or a false defeat that raises the stakes.
Where
50%
Word
44,000
Chapter
16
Bad Guys Close In
Pressure builds from outside and inside, and the hero's flaws start to cost them.
Where
50% to 75%
Word
44,000 to 66,000
Chapter
16 to 24
All Is Lost
The lowest point: something or someone is lost.
Where
75%
Word
66,000
Chapter
24
Dark Night of the Soul
The hero takes in the loss and faces the lesson at last.
Where
75% to 80%
Word
66,000 to 70,400
Chapter
24 to 26
Break Into Three
The hero sees how to put things right, using what they have learned.
Where
80%
Word
70,400
Chapter
26
Finale
The hero acts on the lesson, confronts the problem and changes their world.
Where
80% to 99%
Word
70,400 to 87,120
Chapter
26 to 32
Final Image
A mirror of the opening image that shows how much has changed.
Where
99% to 100%
Word
87,120 to 88,000
Chapter
32

Chapters are estimated as if every chapter were the same length, so a beat near the end of one chapter may open the next.

Positions for the novel version of Blake Snyder's beat sheet, as listed by Kindlepreneur and checked October 19, 2026. Jessica Brody's own calculator, for her Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, gives the same Catalyst, Break Into Two and Midpoint. Kindlepreneur Jessica Brody's calculator

Save the Cat! is a registered trademark. This calculator is not affiliated with its owners or with Jessica Brody.

What a beat sheet is

A beat sheet lists the turning points of a story, its beats, and roughly where each one should fall. It tells you when the story should turn, not what happens when it does.

This calculator places every beat by word count, the way novelists measure a draft, and by chapter when you give it a chapter count. Switch the structure to compare the 15 beats of Save the Cat! with three acts.

Save the Cat! beats for a novel

Blake Snyder wrote the 15-beat sheet for screenplays in Save the Cat! (2005). Jessica Brody adapted it for novels in Save the Cat! Writes a Novel (2018), placing each beat as a share of the book instead of a page of script.

The positions here are the ones Kindlepreneur lists for the novel version: the Catalyst at about 10%, Break Into Two at about 20%, the Midpoint at about 50%, All Is Lost at about 75% and Break Into Three at about 80%. Brody's own calculator gives the same figures for the Catalyst, Break Into Two and the Midpoint.

Three-act structure by word count

Syd Field's paradigm divides a 120-page screenplay into three acts: about 30 pages of setup, 60 of confrontation and 30 of resolution. The inciting incident comes within the first ten pages, Plot Point One between pages 20 and 30, the midpoint around page 60 and Plot Point Two around page 90.

As shares of a novel, act one is the first quarter, act two the middle half and act three the last quarter. In an 88,000-word book, Plot Point One lands between about word 14,700 and word 22,000, and Plot Point Two near word 66,000.

Finding each beat in your chapters

Chapters are rarely the same length, so the chapter column is an estimate: it assumes every chapter holds the same number of words. A beat that lands near the end of one chapter may open the next.

For the exact spot, find the word position in your manuscript. In Word or Google Docs, select everything from the first line to a scene, and the word count shows how far into the book it starts.

Use it to revise, not only to plan

A finished draft is where a beat sheet earns its keep. Mark where each turn actually happens, then compare:

Note the scene where each beat happens in your draft, and its word position.
If the catalyst lands at 20% instead of 10%, the opening may be running long. Look for setup the reader does not need yet.
If nothing turns around 50%, the first half of the middle has nothing to build toward. That is where middles start to sag.
If the finale starts at 90%, the ending may feel rushed. Check that the climax leaves room for its consequences.

How to analyze your novel's structure

See where your story actually turns

A beat sheet shows where the turns should fall. StoryWith AI shows where they do: the Story Map lays out every scene by chapter with a tension score, and the Emotional Arc plots that tension across the book, so a sagging middle or a flat stretch is easy to see.

It does not label your scenes with Save the Cat! or three-act beats, and it does not rewrite them. It flags flat stretches and sudden swings in tension, maps your setups to their payoffs and links each finding to its scene. What to move is up to you.

See what an AI developmental edit checks

Run it on the whole manuscript

These tools read a sample. StoryWith AI reads the whole book: structure, pacing, continuity, and a readiness score with every issue linked to its passage. Start free, then upgrade when you're ready to analyze the whole book.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is a beat sheet?

A list of a story's turning points, its beats, with roughly where each one falls. Writers use one to plan a draft or to check the pacing of a finished one.

How do I work out where each beat falls?

Multiply your total word count by the beat's percentage. In an 88,000-word novel, a beat at 10% falls around word 8,800 and the midpoint around word 44,000. The calculator does every beat at once.

Where should the midpoint fall in a novel?

At about 50%, in Save the Cat! and in three-act structure alike: around word 45,000 in a 90,000-word book.

Does a beat sheet work for every genre?

It fits most commercial fiction, from thrillers and mysteries to romance and fantasy, and literary fiction often follows it more loosely. Treat the percentages as a guide, not a rule: in Syd Field's paradigm, the form matters more than the page numbers.

What is the difference between Save the Cat! and three acts?

Save the Cat! is a three-act structure broken into 15 named beats. Syd Field's three-act paradigm names fewer points: the inciting incident, two plot points and a midpoint.

Do my chapters need to be the same length?

No. The calculator assumes they are only to estimate the chapter for each beat. What matters is roughly where the turns land in the whole book.

Is it free, and is anything I type stored?

It is free, with no signup. It runs in your browser, and nothing you type is sent anywhere.