Story structure for screenwriters

The wall of cards, before the first page.

Write the scene on a card. Move it. Four strands running at once, so the A story, the B story and the thing you are not sure about can sit side by side. Switch to script view and read it in order.

ScreenwritersShowrunnersDirectorsStory editors

The Storybreak board: four columns, A-Story, B-Story, C-Story and Cold Open, each a coloured header over white index cards with a bar down the left edge, status tags reading KEEP, CUT, REWORK and NEW.

Four strands of one pilot. The bar down a card says which strand it belongs to.

The board

Cards, in strands.

A card holds the scene, what it is really about and what is wrong with it. Drag it between strands. Mark it KEEP, CUT, REWORK or NEW and the counts at the top keep up.

CardsTitle, scene, writer's note, the conflict in one line, who is in it. Flag the ones you are avoiding.
StrandsFour timelines you name yourself. Present and past, protagonist and antagonist, A and B and C. Hide one while you work on another.
Script viewEvery strand folded into one order, top to bottom. Move a card here and the board moves with it.
CanvasThe same cards loose on a table, for when the order is not the point yet.
ConnectionsTie a setup to its payoff and the line stays drawn, so you can see what you planted and never picked up.

Open Storybreak

Beats

Four structures, or none.

Drop a beat marker between cards and the structure sits in the board rather than in a book beside it. Or turn them off and work the way you work.

Three actOpening image, setup, inciting incident, the two pinch points, midpoint, act ends.
Save the CatAll fifteen, in order, with the page each one usually lands on.
Hero's journeyThe twelve stages, for the ones that are really a journey.
Story circleEight steps round, for a half hour that has to close.
Templates3-act, non-linear, character arcs, TV pilot, documentary, or four empty strands you name.

What comes out

Paper, or the next app.

Nothing is locked in here. The point of the board is the thing you write afterwards.

FountainStraight into Final Draft, Highland, Slugline or anything that reads plain text.
PrintReal 4×6 and 3×5 index cards to cut out, or timeline columns, or an outline. Six layouts.
PDF and CSVThe outline for a producer, the list for anyone who wants it in a spreadsheet.
Present modeOne card at a time on the second screen, for the room. The board stays on your side.
ShareA read-only link to the board. No account needed at the other end.
Your accountSame sign-in as the rest of CineSmith. Projects sync, or stay on this machine if you would rather.

Price

Buy it once.

Storybreak is joining CineSmith, where nothing is rented. Pro is a subscription today and becomes a one-time price. What it costs right now is below, and that is what you will be charged.

Free

Enough to break one story.

One project, three strands
All four beat systems
Board, script view and canvas
Fountain out, print to index cards
No account needed. Works offline

Start free

Pro

$6.99 a month

Or $59 a year. Becoming $39 once, bought and kept. Subscribe now and it ends the day the one-time price lands: you will own it, and you will not be asked for the $39.

Everything in Free
Unlimited projects, strands and characters
Cloud sync and share links
Smart import: paste an outline, get cards
Present mode and the story bible
All six export and print layouts

Open Storybreak

How this is made. Built by a working DP with a pair-programmer, Claude, alongside four other tools for the same job. Features get decided on a show and built that week. The rest of CineSmith is bought once and Storybreak is being moved onto the same footing, which is the only price change coming and it is downwards.