B Story - Secondary storyline (often romance/friendship)
Fun and Games - Promise of the premise
Midpoint - False victory or defeat, raises stakes
Bad Guys Close In - Pressure increases
All Is Lost - Lowest point
Dark Night of the Soul - Protagonist confronts failure
Act Three (Resolution) - ~25%
Break into Three - Solution discovered
Finale - Confrontation and resolution
Final Image - Opposite of opening, showing change
Beat Sheet (Save the Cat!)
Beat
Page
Purpose
Opening Image
1
Set tone, "before" snapshot
Theme Stated
5
Someone hints at lesson
Set-Up
1-10
Introduce hero's world
Catalyst
12
Life-changing event
Debate
12-25
Should hero act?
Break into Two
25
Hero enters Act 2
B Story
30
Subplot begins
Fun and Games
30-55
Promise of premise
Midpoint
55
Stakes raised
Bad Guys Close In
55-75
Opposition increases
All Is Lost
75
Whiff of death
Dark Night
75-85
Hero at lowest
Break into Three
85
"A-ha!" moment
Finale
85-110
Final confrontation
Final Image
110
"After" snapshot
Sequence Method
Eight sequences, each 10-15 pages:
Sequence A - Status quo and inciting incident
Sequence B - Predicament and lock-in
Sequence C - First obstacle
Sequence D - First culmination (midpoint)
Sequence E - Subplot dominates
Sequence F - Main tension returns
Sequence G - Second culmination (crisis)
Sequence H - Resolution
Hero's Journey
Ordinary World
Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
Meeting the Mentor
Crossing the Threshold
Tests, Allies, Enemies
Approach to Inmost Cave
Ordeal
Reward
The Road Back
Resurrection
Return with Elixir
Converted and distributed by TomeVault — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.
1---2name: bybren-llc-story-systems-template-story-structure3description: Story Structure4---56# Story Structure78## Three-Act Structure910### Act One (Setup) - ~25%11- **Opening Image** - Visual that sets tone12- **Theme Stated** - Hint at the theme13- **Setup** - Introduce protagonist, world, stakes14- **Catalyst** - Inciting incident15- **Debate** - Protagonist hesitates16- **Break into Two** - Protagonist commits to journey1718### Act Two (Confrontation) - ~50%19- **B Story** - Secondary storyline (often romance/friendship)20- **Fun and Games** - Promise of the premise21- **Midpoint** - False victory or defeat, raises stakes22- **Bad Guys Close In** - Pressure increases23- **All Is Lost** - Lowest point24- **Dark Night of the Soul** - Protagonist confronts failure2526### Act Three (Resolution) - ~25%27- **Break into Three** - Solution discovered28- **Finale** - Confrontation and resolution29- **Final Image** - Opposite of opening, showing change3031## Beat Sheet (Save the Cat!)3233| Beat | Page | Purpose |34|------|------|---------|35| Opening Image | 1 | Set tone, "before" snapshot |36| Theme Stated | 5 | Someone hints at lesson |37| Set-Up | 1-10 | Introduce hero's world |38| Catalyst | 12 | Life-changing event |39| Debate | 12-25 | Should hero act? |40| Break into Two | 25 | Hero enters Act 2 |41| B Story | 30 | Subplot begins |42| Fun and Games | 30-55 | Promise of premise |43| Midpoint | 55 | Stakes raised |44| Bad Guys Close In | 55-75 | Opposition increases |45| All Is Lost | 75 | Whiff of death |46| Dark Night | 75-85 | Hero at lowest |47| Break into Three | 85 | "A-ha!" moment |48| Finale | 85-110 | Final confrontation |49| Final Image | 110 | "After" snapshot |5051## Sequence Method5253Eight sequences, each 10-15 pages:54551. **Sequence A** - Status quo and inciting incident562. **Sequence B** - Predicament and lock-in573. **Sequence C** - First obstacle584. **Sequence D** - First culmination (midpoint)595. **Sequence E** - Subplot dominates606. **Sequence F** - Main tension returns617. **Sequence G** - Second culmination (crisis)628. **Sequence H** - Resolution6364## Hero's Journey65661. Ordinary World672. Call to Adventure683. Refusal of the Call694. Meeting the Mentor705. Crossing the Threshold716. Tests, Allies, Enemies727. Approach to Inmost Cave738. Ordeal749. Reward7510. The Road Back7611. Resurrection7712. Return with Elixir7879---80> Converted and distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io/claim/bybren-llc) — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.81<!-- tomevault:4.0:skill_md:2026-04-11 -->
Run npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/bybren-llc-story-systems-template-story-structure in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.
Story Structure It is listed under Coding & Dev Tools on SkillMD.
This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: PASS, Skill Scanner: PASS. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.
This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.
Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.
tomevault-io (@tomevault-io) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.