I'm curious to know if it can apply to an episode, volume, season, or an individual book of a trilogy. If it does apply, how do you apply those individual episodes into a whole story whilst following the beat sheet?
For the people who don't know what Save the Cat is, it's basically A story structure method that uses 15-beat blueprint writers can follow to craft engaging, well-paced, and satisfying stories.
The 15 beats are:
OPENING IMAGE (THE IMAGE THAT WELCOMES THE READER INTO THE STORY’S WORLD)
THEME STATED (A BRIEF BUT CLEAR STATEMENT OF THE STORY’S THEME)
SETUP (A LONGER BEAT THAT INTRODUCES RELEVANT DETAIL AND THE CHARACTER’S STATUS QUO)
CATALYST (THE EVENT THAT BREAKS THAT STATUS QUO AND PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY)
DEBATE (THE PROTAGONIST DEBATES WHETHER THEY SHOULD ACCEPT THE OPPORTUNITY)
BREAK INTO TWO (THE PROTAGONIST DECIDES TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON THE OPPORTUNITY. A PLAN IS SET IN MOTION)
B STORY (A SUBPLOT IS INTRODUCED, OFTEN AT THE BEGINNING OF AN IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP)
FUN AND GAMES (THE PROMISE OF THE PREMISE PLAYS OUT AS THE GOAL IS SOUGHT)
MIDPOINT (A TURNING POINT OF CONFLICT. OFTEN A MOMENT OF FALSE SUCCESS OR FALSE DEFEAT)
BAD GUYS CLOSING IN (THE STAKES RISES AND THE FORCES OF ANTAGONISM BECOMES MORE THREATENING)
ALL IS LOST(IT SEEMS THERE IS NO WAY FORWARD FOR THE PROTAGONIST)
DARK KNIGHT OF THE SOUL (THE PROTAGONIST MUST LOOK INWARD AND FIND STRENGTH TO MOVE FORWARD)
BREAK INTO THREE (A NEW PLAN IS HATCHED AS THE CHARACTER FIND STRENGTH TO MAKE A FINAL ATTEMPT AT THEIR GOAL)
FINALE (THE MOMENT OF HIGHEST TENSION IN THE STORY, WHERE THE GOAL IS EITHER WON OR LOST)
FINAL IMAGE (THE FINAL IMPRESSION THE STORY LEAVES ON THE READER)