Short Story Arc

Percentages show roughly where each beat lands in the finished story - the midpoint of a 110-page screenplay is page 55. Write your version under each; it saves in your browser as you go.

1. 1.Hook

   ~1%

   Open in motion, close to the moment that matters. Establish the character, the place, and the tension in the first lines; a short story has no room for a slow runway.

2. 2.Inciting Moment

   ~15%

   The disturbance that sets the story going: the choice, arrival, or pressure the rest of the story will answer.

3. 3.Complication

   ~40%

   The situation deepens. Raise the cost, narrow the options, and let the central tension tighten toward a decision.

4. 4.The Turn

   ~65%

   The pivot the whole story is built around: a revelation, reversal, or choice that changes how the character or the reader sees things.

5. 5.Climax

   ~82%

   The peak of pressure: the character acts (or fails to), and the story's question is answered in the doing.

6. 6.Resolution

   ~93%

   The aftermath in a few strokes: what changed, what it cost, the resonant final image. Land it and get out.

More Short fiction beat sheets

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Terms used in this guide