I finally finished and published my latest novel, SWAP. As intended, I used the Save the Cat method to outline it. Here is everything I learned about the method, how the individual beats work, and how I used them to structure the novel.

What Is the Save the Cat Outlining Method?

Save the Cat is a story-structure and outlining method originally developed by screenwriter Blake Snyder. It divides a story into 15 major “beats” that should occur at roughly specific points in the story. Although the method was originally designed for screenplays, it works surprisingly well for novels because it gives you a clear framework without requiring you to know every scene before you start writing.

The percentages below are approximate positions in the story. They are not strict rules. Think of them as landmarks that help you determine whether your story is moving at the right pace.

1. Opening Image — 0–1%

The Opening Image introduces the protagonist and shows us what their world looks like before the main story begins. It establishes the tone, setting, and often the protagonist’s ordinary life. Ideally, it also gives us a visual or thematic snapshot of the person the protagonist is at the beginning of the story.

It is useful to think of the Opening Image as the “before” picture. By the end of the novel, the reader should be able to compare it with the Final Image and see how much has changed.

2. Theme Stated — Around 5%

The Theme Stated is where the central theme or lesson of the story is hinted at. Usually, another character tells the protagonist something that they don’t fully understand or accept yet.

The important part is that the protagonist doesn’t necessarily recognize the significance of the statement. The story will spend the rest of the novel proving, challenging, or developing this idea.

3. Setup — 1–10%

The Setup establishes the protagonist’s world, relationships, problems, strengths, weaknesses, and goals. It introduces the people and circumstances that will become important later.

Most importantly, the Setup should establish what is missing from the protagonist’s life. What do they want? What do they need? What is keeping them from getting it? These questions create the foundation for the transformation that follows.

4. Catalyst — 10%

The Catalyst is the event that disrupts the protagonist’s ordinary life. Something happens that makes it impossible for the story to continue as it did before.

The protagonist may receive an opportunity, suffer a loss, discover a secret, meet someone, or face a sudden threat. Whatever the event is, it creates the central problem of the story.

5. Debate — 10–20%

The protagonist reacts to the Catalyst and considers what to do next. This is the “Should I or shouldn’t I?” section of the story.

The Debate is important because the protagonist shouldn’t simply accept the new situation without resistance. They need a reason to hesitate, doubt themselves, or look for an alternative. This section builds tension before the protagonist finally commits to the story.

6. Break Into Two — Around 20%

At Break Into Two, the protagonist makes a decision and enters the “upside-down world” of Act Two. They have crossed a threshold and cannot simply return to their old life.

This is one of the most important beats because it represents the protagonist actively choosing to pursue the story rather than merely reacting to events.

7. B Story — Around 22%

The B Story introduces a secondary storyline, often involving a relationship or character who helps develop the protagonist’s emotional or thematic journey.

In many stories, this is a romance, friendship, mentorship, or partnership. The B Story often carries the Theme Stated idea and eventually helps the protagonist understand what they actually need.

8. Fun & Games — 20–50%

This is the section where the premise of the story is explored. It is often the part readers came for.

If your novel is about a character becoming a spy, for example, this is where we get to see them being a spy. If it is about surviving on another planet, this is where we experience the challenges of surviving there.

“Fun & Games” doesn’t necessarily mean that the story has to be funny. It means delivering the central promise of the premise.

9. Midpoint — Around 50%

The Midpoint is a major turning point that changes the direction of the story. It is often a false victory or false defeat.

The stakes usually become higher, and the protagonist’s situation becomes more serious. The Midpoint should make the reader feel that the story has entered a new phase.

10. Bad Guys Close In — 50–75%

After the Midpoint, pressure begins to increase. External antagonists become more dangerous, but internal problems can also become more significant.

The protagonist’s plans start falling apart. Relationships may deteriorate, enemies may gain ground, and the consequences of earlier decisions become unavoidable.

11. All Is Lost — Around 75%

The All Is Lost moment is the protagonist’s lowest point. Something happens that makes success appear impossible.

Often, this beat mirrors or directly contrasts with the protagonist’s original problem. A character who wanted to gain everything may lose everything. A character who wanted to save someone may fail to do so.

12. Dark Night of the Soul — 75–80%

The protagonist reacts to the All Is Lost moment. They have lost their previous solution and don’t yet know what to do next.

This is the emotional low point of the story. The protagonist reflects on what has happened and, ideally, finally begins to understand the lesson or theme that they have been resisting.

13. Break Into Three — Around 80%

The protagonist finds a new solution by combining what they have learned from the A Story and B Story.

This is the transition into the final act. Instead of simply trying harder using their old approach, the protagonist now approaches the problem differently because they have changed.

14. Finale — 80–99%

The protagonist puts the new understanding into action. The major conflict is resolved, the antagonist is defeated or overcome, and the questions established throughout the story are answered.

A good Finale should demonstrate the protagonist’s transformation rather than merely telling the reader that they have changed.

15. Final Image — 99–100%

The Final Image is the “after” picture. It should echo the Opening Image in some way while showing how the protagonist or their world has changed.

A strong Opening Image and Final Image create a satisfying sense of completion. They don’t have to be literally similar, but the contrast should communicate the character’s journey.

15 Plot Points for a 60K Word Novel

For a 60,000-word novel, the percentages translate roughly into these positions:

Beat	Approx. position	Approx. word count
Opening Image	0–1%	0–600
Theme Stated	~5%	~3,000
Setup	1–10%	600–6,000
Catalyst	10%	~6,000
Debate	10–20%	6,000–12,000
Break Into Two	20%	~12,000
B Story	22%	~13,200
Fun & Games	20–50%	12,000–30,000
Midpoint	50%	~30,000
Bad Guys Close In	50–75%	30,000–45,000
All Is Lost	75%	~45,000
Dark Night of the Soul	75–80%	45,000–48,000
Break Into Three	80%	~48,000
Finale	80–99%	48,000–59,400
Final Image	99–100%	59,400–60,000

15 Plot Points Exemplified on Star Wars: A New Hope

Star Wars: A New Hope is an excellent example of the Save the Cat structure, as everyone knows the movie:

Opening Image: We see the vastness of space and the Imperial Star Destroyer pursuing Princess Leia’s smaller ship. The story immediately establishes the world and its conflict.

Theme Stated: Luke’s desire to leave Tatooine and pursue a larger life introduces the central idea of growing beyond his limited worldview.

Setup: We meet Luke, his aunt and uncle, Obi-Wan, R2-D2, C-3PO and the wider world of Tatooine. Luke wants adventure but is stuck on his home planet.

Catalyst: Luke discovers the message from Princess Leia hidden inside R2-D2.

Debate: Luke initially doesn’t want to get involved. After the destruction of his home and the death of his aunt and uncle, however, staying is no longer possible.

Break Into Two: Luke leaves Tatooine with Obi-Wan.

B Story: Luke’s relationship with Obi-Wan becomes central to his development.

Fun & Games: Luke enters the larger Star Wars universe, visits the Mos Eisley cantina, meets Han Solo and Chewbacca, and travels aboard the Millennium Falcon.

Midpoint: The Millennium Falcon arrives at the Death Star, where Luke discovers that Princess Leia is being held prisoner. The story shifts from escape and discovery toward direct confrontation with the Empire.

Bad Guys Close In: The heroes rescue Leia but are trapped aboard the Death Star. Stormtroopers pursue them, and Obi-Wan confronts Darth Vader.

All Is Lost: Obi-Wan is killed by Vader. Luke loses his mentor just when he needs him most.

Dark Night of the Soul: The heroes escape, but the Death Star is still operational and the Rebellion is facing overwhelming odds.

Break Into Three: Luke combines Obi-Wan’s teachings with his own abilities and trusts the Force rather than relying entirely on technology.

Finale: The Rebel fighters attack the Death Star. Luke uses the Force to make the decisive shot and destroys it.

Final Image: Luke stands victorious during the medal ceremony. Compare this with the isolated young man dreaming of leaving Tatooine in the Opening Image: he has become the hero he wanted to be.

15 Plot Points Used for My Novel SWAP — Includes Spoilers

Opening Image: Introduction of the main protagonist, Dan Carter, his friend Ray, and his typical everyday life.

Theme Stated: This happens directly in Chapter 1, when the two working-class men talk about wanting their children to have a better life. What are they willing to do to make that happen? The answer the novel gives is: all that is necessary.

Setup: I like to throw the reader into the action as quickly as possible. Thus, the Setup consists of the Opening Image and Theme Stated for me.

Catalyst: At the end of Chapter 1, the Catalyst is the message that Dan’s son has been kidnapped. Again, I like to throw the reader into the action quickly, which is why the Catalyst happens at around 2% of the story in SWAP.

However, another Catalyst changes the story at around 10%: the first swap, when the kidnappers release “the wrong boy.”

Debate: Dan mostly debates with the world during this phase. Who can help him get his son back? The answer increasingly becomes: “No one but himself.”

Break Into Two: When Dan realizes that he can’t rely on the police or the FBI to bring his son back, he reaches out to everyone who could potentially help. Debate and break into two is somewhat mixed.

B Story: The B Story is actually Dan’s mother being in a coma. There is no romance subplot in the story.

Fun & Games: This section explores Dan’s new “world.” Who can help him get the money? How can he deliver it? Can he find the kidnappers? Or can Dan negotiate with them directly?

Midpoint: The major turning point is Dan’s realization that he will never get the money.

Bad Guys Close In: The pressure increases when the bad guy demands that Dan sacrifice his own life to save his son’s.

All Is Lost: The Low Point and Bad Guys Close In happen in the same scene. It starts with the death of Dan’s mother, which symbolizes that his old life is over—with no chance of bringing it back. All Is Lost when Dan agrees to have his organs harvested in exchange for the money needed to save his son.

Dark Night of the Soul: The emotional low point starts with the Death of his mother and leads directly to the organ harvesting scene.

Break Into Three: The next major shift in the story happens when Dan notices the connection between the kidnappers and his ex-wife’s new boyfriend. This marks the transition from Dan being a reactor to his circumstances to becoming an actor who actively determines the outcome himself.

Finale: Dan sets up the final encounter with the main villain and prepares a trap during the second swap. He dies a hero’s death to save his son. The ultimate sacrifice is made, as foreshadowed in the first chapter.

Final Image: Once the peak of your story has been reached, you are on borrowed time. The reader is already on their way out. Therefore, I kept the Final Image short and hopeful, with Ray taking Dan’s son to a World Series baseball game. The final home run rounds out the happy image.

Free Resources to Learn the Method

1. How to Write Your Novel Using the Save the Cat Beat Sheet
2. Excel Beat Sheet (Download Link)
3. Beat Sheet (PDF Link)
4. Save The Cat! Beat Sheet Analysis of Popular Movies

Mistakes People Make When Using the Save the Cat Method

1. Don’t use the outline as a strict rule. You can bend, expand, or shorten any plot point. If it helps the story, you can even omit one. The outlining method should be seen as training wheels. Only use them for as long as they help you. Get rid of them when they don’t.

2. Trying to force every story into exactly 15 beats. The beats describe common story functions; they don’t have to occur with mathematical precision.

3. Confusing beats with scenes. A beat can consist of several scenes, while a single scene can sometimes accomplish multiple beats.

4. Focusing too much on percentages. Knowing that the Midpoint should occur around 50% is useful, but moving it to 47% or 53% won’t destroy your novel.

5. Ignoring character development. Save the Cat is not just a sequence of external events. The protagonist can change – sometimes he even has to.

6. Outlining everything before understanding the story. The beat sheet is a tool for discovering the story, not a replacement for understanding your characters, premise, conflict and theme.

Simple Save the Cat Checklist to Use

After completing your outline, ask yourself:

• Is the protagonist clearly introduced?
• Is the protagonist’s ordinary world established?
• Is the central theme hinted at early?
• Does something significant disrupt the protagonist’s life?
• Does the protagonist have a reason to hesitate before committing?
• Does Break Into Two represent a meaningful decision?
• Is there a B Story that supports the main story?
• Does the middle deliver the central promise of the premise?
• Does the Midpoint significantly change the stakes?
• Do the problems become progressively worse after the Midpoint?
• Is there a genuine All Is Lost moment?
• Does the protagonist learn or understand something during the Dark Night?
• Does the Finale demonstrate the protagonist’s transformation?
• Does the Final Image contrast with the Opening Image?
• Does the entire outline form a logical cause-and-effect chain?

If most of these questions can be answered with “yes,” you’re probably on the right track.

Is the Save the Cat Novel Worth It?

To prepare for writing SWAP, I read Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody. It’s a good read that collects the information in an easy-to-digest way. The first third explains the method, and then the book provides examples showing how the beats work in different types of stories.

If you’re looking for an easy reference that goes a bit deeper than my free guide and the resources linked to, get the book — it’s worth it.

To Conlcude

If you don’t know where to start when writing a novel, the method is an easy-to-use tool that may help. Don’t use it as gospel, though. Start outlining your novel with the 15 plot points, and if you feel like mixing things up afterwards and even erasing entire points, do exactly that. In the end, your story is yours. Thus, your feelings should determine what is right and wrong to do with it.

A good idea doesn’t guarantee a good book. But without a good idea, you certainly can’t write a good book. If you want to become an author, start by learning how to generate strong ideas.

So how do you come up with ideas for books and novels?

Here are some of my methods:

1. Inversion

Take stories from the mainstream and flip them. Swap protagonists and antagonists. Instead of the usual villains, try different perspectives. Ask yourself: What happens if the roles are reversed? This approach creates fresh perspectives because mainstream storytelling rarely explores them.

2. Scale and Variation

Make everything bigger or smaller. Exaggerate or minimize.

For example:

• An intimate relationship saves the world (two people must fall in love or the world ends).
• A nuclear apocalypse is about to happen, but the protagonist is too busy trying to return an old video to the last remaining Blockbuster store because he refuses to pay the late fees.

Playing with scale often produces unexpected and interesting ideas.

3. Write What You Know — But Also What You Want to Know

Start with what you know, such as personal experiences.

But don’t stop there. Explore things you’re curious about. If something feels new and exciting to you, it might feel fresh to readers as well.

4. Create Unique Characters First, Then the Story

James Bond movies follow a very predictable formula. Yet audiences still look forward to the next one. Why? Because the character is compelling.

Create a character people love, and you can build stories around that character for decades.

5. Think About Jobs and Hobbies

What we do makes us interesting. When generating ideas, start by thinking about interesting occupations or hobbies your character might have.

Examples:

• An undertaker who brings widows together so they can fall in love again.
• A priest who believes God commands him to fight crime — using a “holy gun.”

The more unusual the activity, the more interesting the story potential.

6. Make Bad Ideas Better

Sometimes the best ideas come from improving things that didn’t work.

For example, recent entries in big franchises like Star Wars and Star Trek disappointed me. That’s why I started taking notes for my own sci-fi/fantasy epic.

Another example is the wave of “badass female spy” movies, often starring Charlize Theron. Many of these films simply try to make women behave like male action heroes which renders the stories unbelievable.

Instead of copying that formula, I asked myself: How could I write an action story with a female lead that feels believable and has its own tone?

This idea now sits in my idea bank under the title Suburban Housewives, and I plan to turn it into a full novel soon.

7. Freewriting and Mind Mapping

Set a timer for 10 minutes and write down everything that comes to mind. Don’t censor yourself. Don’t judge the ideas. The goal is simply to brainstorm freely and let your mind explore possibilities.

8. Use the News

We live in extremely crazy times. Watch 15 minutes of the daily news and you’ll often find story ideas hiding in real-world events. Reality is frequently stranger than fiction.

9. Use Writing Prompts

Websites like Reedsy offer large collections of writing prompts. There are many other sources as well.

Today you can also use AI tools. Just ask an AI to generate five writing prompts. You can make the prompts more specific by adding a genre or mood.

Examples:

• “Give me five horror story ideas in the style of Stephen King involving everyday objects that come to life.”
• “Generate five novel ideas inspired by the movie Interstellar: science fiction with time travel and family drama.”
• “Five book ideas inspired by The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand: philosophical stories about strong individualists in modern society.”
• “Take a classic fairy tale and invert it: villains become heroes. Give me five variations.”
• “Combine two genres — fantasy and thriller — and generate five ideas with exaggerated elements (for example, magic on a global scale).”

Have your favorite AI model generate five new ideas every day. Eventually you’ll encounter one that feels strong enough to turn into a book.

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Storing Ideas

In the beginning, collect everything — even bad ideas. The goal is to build the habit of writing ideas down. There’s nothing worse than having a great idea, failing to record it, and then forgetting it later. You’ll remember that it was a good idea, but you won’t remember what it actually was.

So write it down immediately. Always.

I use digital tools like Notion (the basic version is free).

I created a simple table that includes:

• Working title
• Short description
• Genre
• Status
• Rating (added later so it doesn’t interfere with brainstorming)

When you finish a book project, go back to your idea bank and choose the next concept to develop.

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How to Rate Your Ideas

Separate the evaluation process from idea generation. As mentioned earlier, write down every idea — even if it initially seems bad. If you evaluate ideas immediately, you may stop writing them down, and that destroys the brainstorming habit.

Once a week, review your ideas and rate them based on four criteria:

1. Passion — How much do you want to write this story?
2. Originality — Has someone already done something similar?
3. Marketability — Would people want to read it?
4. Doability — Can you realistically write it?

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Getting Feedback

After rating your ideas, you can also seek feedback:

• Friends and family
• Writing communities (forums or local groups)
• The internet (Reddit, blogs, X)
• AI tools (ask Grok whether the idea works and why)
• Your own instinct (write 1,000 words and see if the idea still excites you)

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Conclusion

This is my current approach to generating story ideas. It has already produced far more ideas than I could ever realistically write. The interesting part is that once you train your brain to think creatively, new ideas start appearing almost automatically — often while you’re working on another project.

Try this guide, keep what works for you, and discard what doesn’t. Over time, you’ll develop your own reliable system for generating story ideas.

I’m a Trekkie. I fell in love with the franchise during the Next Generation era and regularly went to the theater to see the feature films in the 1990s.

However, during J.J. Abrams’ reboot films, I gradually lost interest. When Discovery was announced, I decided to give it a try—but I stopped watching after two episodes. I never even checked out the other “new” Star Trek iterations. Maybe I will someday.

Even though I haven’t seen the latest attempt to revive the franchise—the Starfleet Academy series—I can already understand why so many people seem upset about it.

From the clips I’ve watched and the reviews I’ve read, it appears that the established brand has once again been used as a mask. Behind that mask is something that doesn’t feel like the Star Trek many fans once knew. Instead, it seems to contain stories the creators wanted to tell anyway—stories that might not attract much attention without the Star Trek label attached.

The problem with this approach is that it may buy you a season or two, but eventually fans recognize that, despite the branding, they aren’t really getting Star Trek. At that point, interest fades, and the show gets cancelled and the movies become busts.

We’ve seen this happen before—not only with Star Trek, but also with other major franchises. The pattern feels familiar enough that it’s easy to predict where Starfleet Academy might be heading.

That said, I hope I’m wrong. I still love Star Trek and want future series to capture what made it so special in the 1990s. But again, I haven’t watched a single episode of Starfleet Academy, but the online discussions surrounding it seem to echo the same concerns seen in other modern franchise shows.

The broader lesson for storytellers is: Write your own stories. Create your own worlds. Develop your own characters. If a story can’t generate interest on its own, attaching it to an established franchise won’t magically make it compelling. It will just expose weak writing and destroy the fans’ love for the franchise itself.

Brands like Star Wars and Star Trek have endured for decades. Whether they can fully recover from this era of horrible storytelling remains to be seen.

What a great first half this movie had. It was novel, sharp, suspenseful, and all-around compelling. Beautiful storytelling and confident filmmaking. And then… the second half began.

I’ve always liked movies with a limited setting. Constraints often force creativity. Try writing a story in which no one can speak. Imagine a story that takes place entirely inside a car. Or one that features only a single character.

Limitations like these instantly spark curiosity and suggest a strong, focused premise.

Heretic takes a similar approach, limiting its setting to a single house with only three characters. And for about an hour, the filmmakers execute this premise wonderfully. I was genuinely on the edge of my seat, eager to discover where it would all lead. Framing a classic captivity-horror scenario within a theological debate was a refreshing idea. It gave the film a unique identity. Well done.

But after that first hour, everything slowly falls apart. The tension weakens, the focus blurs, and we’re left with a lackluster resolution in the final ten minutes. To bring the story to its conclusion, the film even abandons logic and internal consistency, relying on one deus ex machina after another.

Heretic is a great example of a story built on a strong — perhaps even brilliant — idea that works beautifully for half a film, only to lose its way because the ending can’t live up to the premise.

And that dynamic makes Heretic feel like a let down despite it being one of the best movies of the last couple of years.

Having a great idea is winning half the battle. But if you can’t carry that idea through to a satisfying conclusion, your audience will feel betrayed.

Interestingly, the opposite can also be true. The movie Barbarian, which operates in a similar genre, had the reverse effect on me. During its first half, I was close to losing interest. But then the story took a bold and unexpected turn, delivering a much stronger second half. When the credits rolled, I didn’t feel disappointed — I felt rewarded.

The lesson is simple: Once you’ve found a great idea for a story, don’t fully commit to developing it until you’ve found an ending that is just as strong — or even stronger.

Because in storytelling, how you finish often defines how your audience remembers the whole experience.

I watched the third installment of the Knives Out franchise yesterday—and I liked it. It’s a good movie, and even one of the better films of the year. It’s obvious that everyone involved had a lot of fun making it, and that Rian Johnson is a smart writer.

Yes, he messed up Star Wars—but only because Kathleen Kennedy allowed him to. Johnson’s filmography proves time and again that he can write clever, original stories. Wake Up Dead Man is a great example of his ability to deliver smart, well-constructed plotlines.

That said, the one thing that almost made me give up on the movie was the first act. It’s simply too long. More than half an hour passes before we get the first murder victim. After that, the movie really picks up steam and keeps you on the edge of your seat. At times, it’s downright brilliant—just like the first two Knives Out films. But I can imagine some viewers dropping out during the first act because it drags a bit.

The best way to get people interested in your story is to start with a bang. Throw the audience straight into the action—just like Tom Cruise does in every Mission: Impossible movie.

Of course, you need to develop the plot and characters at some point, or you won’t have a story at all. But first, you have to capture the audience’s attention before they’re willing to invest in your character and plot development.

As great as Wake Up Dead Man is, I would have started with the murder and then used flashbacks to convey the plot and character development that’s crammed into the first act.

Still, I liked the movie—a lot—and I highly recommend watching it.