Story Structures for Screenwriters
Eight templates, from the three-act structure to the 15-beat sheet, card by card: when to use each one, how it works, the works that show it and why it is free to use; how the four formats change the shape of a story; and how draft2cut's Script page and its analysis use them.
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Contents
Introduction
Build, then check; what makes a screenplay effective; how to read a template card.
Chapter 1 — Four formats
Short film, feature film, TV episode and commercial, and what the analysis checks for each.
Chapter 2 — Eight templates
Three acts, the Hero's Journey, five acts, the Story Circle, in medias res, seven points, the Fichtean curve and the 15-beat sheet: one card each.
Chapter 3 — The Script page in draft2cut
The six dropdowns, what each choice does and which steps use it.
Chapter 4 — Checking a screenplay
The structural analysis: fit with your choices, the beats of the template, what to improve first, two examples and its limits.
Appendix — Why a structure is free to use
Copyright and ideas, what courts have said about plots, what remains protected, trademarks and writing with AI.
Key points
A template is a tool, not a formula
Each structure was drawn from stories that already worked: use one to find what your story is missing, and drop it when the story needs something else.
Four formats, four shapes
A short film, a feature, a TV episode and a commercial change how many beats fit and where the turns fall.
Eight templates, card by card
Origin, beats, when to use it, the works that show it and the common mistakes, from the three-act structure to the 15-beat sheet.
A character who wants something specific
«Find the money by Friday» drives scenes; «be happy» does not. Something in the way and choices with a cost do the rest.
Build, then check
draft2cut's Analysis tab reads the finished screenplay against your choices and the template's beats, and says what works, what is weak and what is missing.
Structures are free to use
Copyright protects expression, not ideas or plots: what stays protected, and which names are trademarks.
Already using draft2cut?
The guide is general information on screenwriting craft. Its notes on the legal status of each structure are general information, not legal advice: for a specific project, ask a lawyer.