Seven-point story structure is a plotting method that builds a story from seven beats — hook, plot turn 1, pinch 1, midpoint, pinch 2, plot turn 2 and resolution — and plans them from the ending backwards, so the opening is designed as the opposite of where the hero ends up.
Novelist Dan Wells popularized the method in lectures for writers, and it has since spread to screenwriters because it is small enough to hold in your head and specific enough to test a plot against. It does not replace acts or a beat sheet; it is a quick skeleton you can check before you outline in detail.
The seven beats
Each beat marks a change in the hero's situation. Read in order, they describe a movement from one state to its opposite.
1. Hook
The hook shows the hero in the starting state — the opposite of the resolution. If the story ends with someone brave, it starts with them afraid; if it ends with them alone and free, it starts with them trapped among people.
2. Plot turn 1
Plot turn 1 is the event that moves the hero out of the starting state and into the story's conflict. It introduces the new world, the problem or the person that sets everything else going, and plays a role close to an inciting incident combined with the end of act one.
3. Pinch 1
Pinch 1 applies pressure. The opposition shows its strength, something goes wrong, and the hero is pushed to act rather than watch.
4. Midpoint
The midpoint is where the hero moves from reacting to acting. They stop running from the problem and decide to solve it, often because they learn something that changes what they want.
5. Pinch 2
Pinch 2 is the heavier blow: a plan fails, an ally is lost, the hero's position looks hopeless. It strips away whatever the hero was relying on.
6. Plot turn 2
Plot turn 2 hands the hero the last piece they need to win — a realization, a skill finally learned, a tool found. The story now has everything for its ending.
7. Resolution
The resolution is the end state: the hero succeeds, fails or changes in a way that mirrors the hook. It should feel both surprising and inevitable, because every beat before it has been pointing there.
Why plan from the ending backwards?
Planning seven-point structure from the ending backwards keeps the story pointed at one destination: once you know the resolution, the hook is its opposite, the midpoint is the halfway turn between them, and the plot turns and pinches are the steps that make that change believable.
The recommended order is resolution, hook, midpoint, then plot turn 1 and plot turn 2, then the two pinches. Working that way exposes a common problem early: if the hook and resolution are not opposites, the story has no arc to build. The character arc guide covers the same movement from the character's side.
Mapping seven-point structure to a script
Seven-point structure has no fixed page numbers, but in a feature of about 110 pages the beats tend to land in familiar places:
- Hook — the first five to ten pages.
- Plot turn 1 — around the end of act one, roughly a quarter of the way in.
- Pinch 1 — between plot turn 1 and the midpoint, roughly three-eighths in.
- Midpoint — about halfway.
- Pinch 2 — between the midpoint and plot turn 2, roughly five-eighths in.
- Plot turn 2 — around the end of act two, roughly three-quarters in.
- Resolution — the final act and the last pages.
That makes it easy to combine with three-act structure: the two plot turns are the act breaks, the midpoint splits act two, and the pinches stop the long second act from sagging. For a short film or a series episode, compress the same ratios to the length you have.
A worked example
Here is an original story, planned in the recommended order and then read forwards. Mara is a night-shift radio host in a fading coastal town.
- Resolution: Mara speaks on air, in her own voice, to save the town's lifeboat station.
- Hook: Mara hides behind a recorded persona and pre-taped segments; she has not said anything true on air in years.
- Plot turn 1: a caller reports that the lifeboat station will close, and the call goes out live before Mara can cut it.
- Pinch 1: the station's owner orders her to stay off the story or lose her slot.
- Midpoint: a listener's rescue story reaches her, and Mara decides to run the campaign herself.
- Pinch 2: her persona is exposed as a fake, and listeners turn on her.
- Plot turn 2: she realizes the listeners were never loyal to the persona but to the late-night company — and they can have her instead.
The midpoint, written as a scene, shows the change from hiding to acting:
INT. RADIO BOOTH - NIGHT Mara's finger hovers over the pre-taped segment. The ON AIR light glows. She pulls the cartridge out. MARA This is Mara. The real one. And I'm not playing the tape tonight.
Strengths and limits
Seven-point structure is quick to sketch and good at revealing whether a plot actually changes the hero. It is weaker on the texture between beats — subplots, the shape of individual scenes, the rhythm of an ensemble. Use it as a check on the spine, then build the scene-by-scene plan in an outline.
It also assumes a single protagonist with a clear change. Stories built on another logic, such as kishotenketsu, may not fit the seven beats at all, and forcing them into it can flatten what makes them work.
Write it in Scenaloom
Scenaloom's beats board can start from a three-act structure, a fifteen-beat sheet or a hero's journey; it has no seven-point template, so add the seven beats by hand on the beats board, using the page ratios above as a guide. The outline and scenes are read from the same draft, so you can check whether each beat really happens on the page. See outline and beats or start a project.
Questions
What are the seven points of story structure?
The seven points of story structure are hook, plot turn 1, pinch 1, midpoint, pinch 2, plot turn 2 and resolution. The hook shows the hero's starting state, the resolution its opposite, and the five beats between them carry the hero from one to the other through two turns, two moments of pressure and a midpoint shift from reacting to acting.
Who created seven-point story structure?
Seven-point story structure was popularized by novelist Dan Wells, who taught it in lectures for writers. He presented it as a way to plan a plot by starting from the resolution, setting the hook as its opposite and then filling in the turns and pinches that connect them.
How does seven-point structure relate to three-act structure?
The two fit together. Plot turn 1 and plot turn 2 sit roughly where the act one and act two breaks fall, the midpoint divides act two, and the pinches add pressure in each half of the second act. The hook belongs to act one and the resolution to act three. See the three-act structure guide.
Does Scenaloom have a seven-point story structure template?
No. Scenaloom's beats board can start from three-act structure, a fifteen-beat sheet or a hero's journey. For seven-point structure, add the seven beats yourself on the beats board and use the outline to plan the scenes that deliver them. The outline and the scenes are read from the same draft.