The 7 Point Plot System aka Save the Cat for Pantsers

ETA: Don't worry about having to keep with the links! I've compiled a list at the bottom of this post!

One of the things I hear most about Save the Cat is that it's damn complicated and what the shit is a theme and why does it have to be in the form of a question? This is a BOOK, Liz, not a freaking episode of Jeopardy!

Pantsers especially, I've noticed, are hella skeered of the beat sheet. And I guess I can understand why. Breaking your book down into 15 steps when you don't even know what your book is about yet does fall under the heading of "intimi--wait for it--dating".

But fear not, you writerly peoples, you! For there is a solution for you heathen pantsers!

The 7 Point Plot System

Developed by Dan Wells, who attributes it to Star Trek RPG, the 7 Point Plot System gives you all the goods of Save the Cat, but with fewer, less intimidating steps.

Here's what it looks like:

The 7 Point Plot System

Hook
The beginning. The mirror image of the end.

Turn 1
Introduces conflict and bridges the gap between the Hook and the Midpoint.

Pinch 1
Something bad happens.

Midpoint
Bridges the gap between the Hook and the Resolution.

Pinch 2
Something even worse happens.

Turn 2
Bridges the gap between Midpoint and End.

Resolution
The climax. Everything in the story leads to this moment.

There's more to it than that, but I'm not going to go into it because he does it so much better. Fortunately for you, the workshop presentation is on YouTube!



He's even made the PowerPoint slides available for download: 7 Point Plot System slides!

I would strongly recommend watching the workshop and going over the slides if you have a free hour this weekend, because not only does he go over the different steps using examples from Harry Potter and The Matrix, but he also goes into some hardcore layered plotting, and breaks it down in a way that it's so simple to use, even for the most die-hard pantser.

(For those of you saving it for later, here's a direct link: 7 Point Plot System. You can also download a PDF of the PowerPoint slides here: 7 Point Plot System PDF.)

How it Works with Save the Cat

I've been over this a hundred times with Liz Poole, and I can say unequivocally, it matches up near perfect with Save the Cat.

Here's the breakdown:

7 Point Plot System	Save the Cat
Hook	Opening Image Theme Stated Setup
Turn 1	Catalyst Debate
Pinch 1	Break into Act II B-Story Fun & Games
Midpoint	Midpoint
Pinch 2	Bad Guys Close In All is Lost Black Moment
Turn 2	Break into Act III Finale
Resolution	Final Image

So you can see, it matches up pretty well. For a better example, I went ahead and did a Beat Sheet and 7 Point Plot worksheet for Wicked (the musical, not the book):

(If you hate Scribd, don't worry--there are links to downloadable PDF versions of these at the bottom of this post.)

7 Point Plot Worksheet - Wicked
Save the Cat Beat Sheet for Novels - Wicked

If you're one of the people who tried Save the Cat and it just didn't work for you, I hope this helps to fill in that gap. These days, I find it's easier to scratch out a loose plot using the 7 Point Plot system, work with the story for a few pages, and then fill in the blanks on the Save the Cat beat sheet as they come to me. A lot of the intimidation that comes with the Save the Cat beat sheet comes from the feeling that you have to have this enormous chunk of information before you even begin writing, and I like how the 7 Point Plot System simplifies that so that you're only working on one aspect of the plot (action, romance, betrayal) at any given time.

Links!

Part 1 of the Story Structure (7 Point Plot) workshop: YouTube
Story Structure (7 Point Plot) slides: PowerPoint | PDF

Beat Sheet example for "Wicked": PDF
7 Point Plot example for "Wicked": PDF

Save the Cat Beat Sheet for Novels: Excel

7 Point Plot Worksheet (Printable): PDF
7 Point Plot Worksheet (Layered): Excel

Thank You

I love that so many people have found the Save the Cat Beat Sheet for Novels helpful. As always, if you have any questions or comments (or corrections!), feel free to let me know.

More beat sheet stuff is coming this summer! It's gonna be awesome!

Save the Cat Beat Sheet Spreadsheet for Novels

A while ago, I talked about how I use the Save the Cat beat sheet to roughly plot out new projects before drafting. The problem for most people, though, is that the beat sheet is for movie scripts that are around 100 pages, and books are significantly longer.

So I decided to share with you my little beat sheet spreadsheet:

Click here to download from Sribd! (Be sure to chose .xlsx format!)
Click here to download the file directly! (For those of you who hate Scribd!)

All you have to do is fill in your title, logline, and projected word count, and it will handle the rest. You can also mark which chapter the beats happen in, in case you need a quick reference.

Enjoy!

More On Plotting

I took a shot of this the day of finals, and just now got around to pulling it off my phone.  Here, we have: a short outline, a long outline, notebook, hair clip, lip balm, colored index cards, pencils, highlighters, black ink pen (very important), white index cards, and Blake Snyder's SAVE THE CAT.

Then, when I have a good idea of where I'm going, it all gets input into Scrivener, like this:

I typically try to write from beginning to end, but there are some scenes I know out of order, so I don't feel bad spending a few minutes getting those down as they come to me.

Full-screen mode is great for times when Twitter gets in the way of productivity:

I'm also partial to my timer-bomb, which keeps me from feeling overwhelmed:

But the real secret to writing well is having tons of these:

HOTCH SNUGGLES!!!!

Happy Holidays, everyone!