What is the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet?

The Blake Snyder Beat Sheet (BS2) is a 15-beat story structure from Blake Snyder's book Save the Cat! It maps a screenplay's key moments — from opening image to final image — to approximate page numbers in a 110-page script, giving writers a template for pacing.

What are the 15 beats of Save the Cat?

Opening Image, Theme Stated, Set-Up, Catalyst, Debate, Break into Two, B Story, Fun and Games, Midpoint, Bad Guys Close In, All Is Lost, Dark Night of the Soul, Break into Three, Finale, and Final Image.

Is the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet too formulaic?

It can be if followed rigidly. The beat sheet is best used as a diagnostic and pacing guide, not a paint-by-numbers formula. Strong writers use it to check structure, then break from it where the story demands.

Breaking Down the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet (With a Free Template)

The Blake Snyder Beat Sheet explained: all 15 beats from Save the Cat, their page numbers, and how to use the structure without writing a formulaic script.

The Blake Snyder Beat Sheet — "BS2" to its fans — is the most widely used structure template in modern screenwriting. From his book Save the Cat!, Snyder mapped 15 story beats to specific page numbers, giving writers a skeleton for pacing a feature. Used well, it's a diagnostic tool; used blindly, it's a formula. Here's the breakdown and how to use it without going robotic.

The 15 beats

Page numbers assume a ~110-page script.

#	Beat	~Page
1	Opening Image	1
2	Theme Stated	5
3	Set-Up	1–10
4	Catalyst	12
5	Debate	12–25
6	Break into Two	25
7	B Story	30
8	Fun and Games	30–55
9	Midpoint	55
10	Bad Guys Close In	55–75
11	All Is Lost	75
12	Dark Night of the Soul	75–85
13	Break into Three	85
14	Finale	85–110
15	Final Image	110

What each beat does

Opening Image — the "before" snapshot; tone and world in one shot.
Theme Stated — someone voices the film's thematic question (often to a hero who isn't ready to hear it).
Set-Up — the hero's world and flaws before change.
Catalyst — the inciting incident that disrupts everything.
Debate — the hero resists the call. Should I do this?
Break into Two — the hero commits and enters the new world.
B Story — usually the relationship/theme thread (often the love interest or mentor).
Fun and Games — the "promise of the premise"; the trailer moments.
Midpoint — a false victory or false defeat that raises the stakes. See midpoint shifts.
Bad Guys Close In — pressure mounts, internal and external.
All Is Lost — the lowest point; something "dies." See the all-is-lost moment.
Dark Night of the Soul — the hero absorbs the loss.
Break into Three — the insight that fuses A and B stories; the hero acts.
Finale — the hero proves change and resolves the conflict.
Final Image — the "after"; the mirror of the opening.

How to use it without being formulaic

The beat sheet is a map, not a cage:

Draft with it, diagnose with it. If your midpoint is at page 80, that's useful information — your second act is dragging.
Hit the beats' function, not the exact page. Stories aren't all 110 pages; scale the proportions.
Break it on purpose. Great films violate the template deliberately. Know the rule before you break it.
Don't mistake structure for story. Beats are scaffolding; character and theme are the building.

Keep your structure visible while you write

The value of a beat sheet is checking your script against it — which is easiest when your outline and script live together. Scriptease lets you plan structure and write in the same offline project, so you can see whether your midpoint really lands at the midpoint.