Save the Cat — Blake Snyder's 15 beats, page-precise.
Save the Cat doesn't just split your story into three acts: it places 15 beats at exact positions (Catalyst at 10%, Midpoint at 50%, All Is Lost at 75%, Finale at 80%). Extypis loads the full grid, measures where your beats actually fall in the manuscript, and flags the ones that drift.
Structure
Save the Cat narrative plan pre-loaded, with all 15 beats in Blake Snyder's canonical order.
The 15 Save the Cat beats are a grid — you still need it in front of you while drafting.
Opening Image, Theme Stated, Set-Up, Catalyst, Debate, Break Into Two, B Story, Fun and Games, Midpoint, Bad Guys Close In, All Is Lost, Dark Night of the Soul, Break Into Three, Finale, Final Image. You write inside each beat, you see the full canvas, you adapt without losing it.
From raw idea to a manuscript locked onto the Save the Cat grid.
Pick the right Snyder genre, place the 15 beats where they belong, write inside the grid, measure the real pagination, adjust before beta-reading, export for submission. Without losing the intuition behind the rigor.
Save the Cat works — when you actually apply it.
The method is famous for a reason: it's precise. But without a tool to measure real pagination, you slip back into rough estimates fast.
Three promises, atop Blake Snyder's grid.
Load the 15 beats, measure pagination in real time, ship a manuscript locked onto the method — without losing the freedom to write.
The Save the Cat grid holds as the manuscript grows.
The 15 beats pre-loaded with their target position (10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 80%), real position measurement in the text, gap visible at all times. The Snyder canvas becomes operational.
The AI measures the position of each beat — not you.
The AI reads your beat sheet and your manuscript together. It flags missing beats, displaced beats, drowned beats. Precise diagnostic, no prompt to compose.
From locked manuscript to clean agent attachment.
Publisher-spec DOCX export (12pt, double-spaced, title page), EPUB for beta reads, beat sheet exportable as a structured synopsis. Everything an agent or contest asks for.
Give your project a real reading address.
Once the text is ready, you don't have to leave Extypis to find your first readers. Publish in one click on the public catalog and give your book a clean, readable, shareable page.
Published directly on Extypis — no fees, no middleman.
Publishing opens a dedicated page for your project: cover, title page, chapters, table of contents. The content is frozen at publication, so your readers always see a stable version while you keep working. You decide when to push a new version.
A reading page for each project
Customizable URL, title page, cover, table of contents and chapter-by-chapter navigation.
A catalog that helps readers find your book
Your project can appear in the public catalog, categories, subcategories and trending page — or stay accessible only through the direct link.
Readers who can actually react
Readers can comment chapter by chapter, mention a specific paragraph, and you get notified for every feedback.
A stable version without breaking your work
The text is frozen at publication time. You keep writing on your side, then decide when to push an update.
Everything Extypis unlocks for you
Hold your story, from outline to final page.
Narrative tools you won't find elsewhere — turn a tangle of ideas into a structure that holds.
AI that suggests, never replaces
The AI permanently sees your whole project — outline, sheets, scenes already written. Every rewrite, every completion, every suggestion, every cover stays consistent with your entire work, and at no extra cost or setup. You approve every word.
Estimates if you only use this feature. Credits are shared across every AI tool.
Daily writing comfort
Everything that makes long-form writing sustainable: shortcuts, templates, anchored notes, versions, goals.
Ship a book, not a file.
From manuscript to finished book: professional exports, academic citations, direct publishing.
Analyse and refine your prose
Style tools that go beyond the spell-checker: readability, poetic meter, repetitions, connectors, passive voice.
Lifetime updates
Every future Extypis innovation included, no extra cost, no paywall.
Backing an indie project
Extypis is an independent, self-funded project — no ads, no venture capital.
Human support
Got a question? You talk directly to the creator, never a chatbot.
Free to begin, even to finish. Serious when you need to go deeper.
The work of structuring and writing is entirely yours. The subscription gives you a thoughtful co-pilot, an occasional co-author, and an objective reader drawn from your target audience.
Frequent questions, plain answers (still friendly).
Is Save the Cat suited to novels, or only screenplays ?
Both. Blake Snyder published Save the Cat! in 2005 for screenplays, but Jessica Brody adapted the method to fiction in Save the Cat! Writes a Novel (2018) — now a reference for many novelists. The 15 beats work identically: they describe a story's narrative rhythm, regardless of medium. Extypis pre-loads the novel version, with percentages adapted to a 80,000–120,000 word manuscript.
What's the difference between Save the Cat and the Hero's Journey ?
The Hero's Journey (Campbell, Vogler) is mythological and thematic — it describes the initiatory stages of a character who changes. Save the Cat is more precise about rhythm and pagination — it places 15 beats at exact percentages. Many authors combine both: Hero's Journey for the transformation arc, Save the Cat for the cadence. Extypis offers both narrative plans, and you can switch between them.
Does Extypis really pre-load the 15 Save the Cat beats ?
Yes, in Blake Snyder's canonical order. Opening Image, Theme Stated, Set-Up, Catalyst, Debate, Break Into Two, B Story, Fun and Games, Midpoint, Bad Guys Close In, All Is Lost, Dark Night of the Soul, Break Into Three, Finale, Final Image. Each beat comes with its short description, its target position (as a percentage of the manuscript), and a space for your scenes. You write inside, you see the grid at all times.
Does Save the Cat work for romance or fantasy ?
Yes, particularly well. Many romance authors combine Save the Cat (for external rhythm: 15 beats in their place) with Gwen Hayes's Romancing the Beat (for the couple's emotional beats). In fantasy, the Snyder grid structures the adventure arc — useful on 800-page sagas where pagination becomes critical. Sarah J. Maas, Rebecca Yarros and many recent bestsellers use a Save the Cat + genre-specific internal structure combination.
What are Blake Snyder's 10 genres ?
Snyder's 10 genres aren't bookstore aisles — they describe the underlying narrative structure. Monster in the House (a threat in a closed space: Alien, Jaws), Golden Fleece (a quest: The Lord of the Rings), Out of the Bottle (a magical gift: Big), Dude with a Problem (an ordinary hero against peril: Die Hard), Rites of Passage (a life transition), Buddy Love (a strong couple or friendship: La La Land), Whydunit (criminal mystery), The Fool Triumphant (the underdog who wins: Forrest Gump), Institutionalized (life inside an institution: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), Superhero (an exceptional being against an ordinary world). Each genre has its required ingredients.
Can the AI really verify each beat sits in its right place ?
Yes — it's one of the strongest use cases. The AI reads your beat sheet and your manuscript together. It calculates the real position of each beat (in words or as a percentage of the total) and compares it to the Snyder target. A Midpoint at 38% or an All Is Lost at 65% becomes immediately visible. It also flags drowned beats (Dark Night of the Soul diluted across 50 pages) and missing beats (Theme Stated absent).
What does « Extypis » mean ?
« Ex typis » is a Latin formula that appeared on the frontispieces of printed books from the 16th to 18th centuries, right before the printer's name — literally « from the presses of… ». The word derives from the Greek τύπος (typos): imprint, model, mark left behind. That's exactly the lineage we claim: a digital workshop that prepares your manuscripts in the great European typographic tradition, until they're worthy of being printed.
I built the writing app I'd always wished for.
Having finished a novel after several attempts, and built up years of poetry — kept right here, on Extypis — I saw firsthand how many writing blocks are really method problems, easy to move past once you give yourself the right tools. Technique doesn't replace imagination — it carries it. If you write seriously, Extypis is for you too.