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====== Save the Cat Beat Sheet ======

From "[[http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/07/hollywood_and_blake_snyder_s_screenwriting_book_save_the_cat.single.html|Save the Movie!
The 2005 screenwriting book that’s taken over Hollywood—and made every movie feel the same]]".

  * **Opening image (p. 1)**: Sets the tone for the story and suggests the protagonist’s primary problem.
  * **Theme is stated (p. 5)**: A question or statement, usually made to the protagonist, indicating the story’s main thematic idea.
  * **Set-up (p. 1-10)**: An introduction to the main characters and setting—the background.
  * **Catalyst (p. 12)**: A major event that changes the protagonist’s world and sets the story in motion.
  * **Debate (p. 12-25)**: A question is raised about the choice now before the protagonist. Often this section lays out the stakes for the journey ahead.  
  * **Break into Act II (p. 25-30)**: The hero definitively leaves his old world or situation and enters a strange new one.
  * **B-story (p. 30)**: A secondary plotline that often fleshes out side characters—frequently a mentor or a love interest—who assist the hero on his journey.
  * **Fun and games (p. 30-55)**: Snyder says this section offers “the promise of the premise.” It’s an exploration of the story’s core concept that gives the story its “trailer-friendly moments.” It’s usually lighter in tone, and it typically builds to a big victory at the midpoint.
  * **Midpoint (p. 55)**: The A and B stories cross. The story builds to either a false victory or (less often) false defeat. New information is revealed that raises the stakes.
  * **Bad guys close in (p. 55-75)**: After the victory at the midpoint, things grow steadily worse as the villains regroup and push forward.
  * **All is lost (p. 75)**: Mirroring the midpoint, it’s usually a false defeat. The hero’s life is in shambles. Often there’s a major death or at least the sense of death—a reference to dying or mortality somehow.
  * **Dark night of the soul (p. 75-85)**: A moment of contemplation in which the hero considers how far he’s come and all he’s learned. It’s the moment in which the hero asks, “Why is all this happening?”
  * **Break into Act III (p. 85)**: A “Eureka!” moment that gives the hero the strength to keep going—and provides the key to success in Act III.
  * **Finale (p. 85-110)**: Relying on all he has learned throughout the story, the hero solves his problems, defeats the villains, and changes the world for the better.
  * **Final image (p. 110)**: A mirror of the opening image that underlines the lessons learned and illustrates how the world has changed.