Using Index Cards to Plan your Story
USING INDEX CARDS TO PLAN YOUR STORY
The humble mutlicolored 3” x 5” index card is a ubiquitous sight in production offices and writer’s rooms of all stripes. The image of a writer meticulously organizing a huge array of index cards on a cork board is a universal one. With Celtx, we’ve made the cork board digital. You can retain the analogue functionality of index cards while cutting back on production costs by not having to buy thumbtacks. Also, we have way more colors.
The basic premise of the index card in the screenwriting context is to visually represent the structure of your story, point by point. Traditionally, these points are referred to as ‘beats’, and there are a multitude of experts in screenwriting theory who promote their own versions of the so-called ‘beat sheet’, which purport to offer a surefire dramatic framework for your story. The jargon differs, and some go more in-depth than others, but the fundamentals of the three-act structure in these beat sheets are generally consistent:
A great way to begin a project is to lay down the basics of each of these points on an index card and arrange them sequentially to see how your story flows. From there, you can add more index cards and content to flesh out each component of your story.
Color-coding is up to you, there are no hard and fast rules. For example, you can choose a color to correspond to scene by tone or action. That way, you can look at your index cards and at a glance determine how much of your story is composed of, say, fight scenes, and how much is composed of intimate dialogue.
Index cards are also applicable to more conceptual aspects of your story planning. You can use them to plot out your characters, their backstories, and their emotional arcs. You can use them to map out the physical geography of your story – which scenes take place where?
Planning your story is easy with Celtx Index Cards!
If you’re writing an episodic project, you can color-code by episode and map out the grander scheme of your story. Have a great idea for a snappy line of dialogue or a killer action sequence? Jot it down on your idea cards. Trying to workout a complicated scene? Plot it out with some brainstorming cards. In Celtx, you can have as many independent sets of index cards within your Studio as you can handle. The only limit is how in-depth you wish to go.
There are also applications for branded content. If you need certain pieces of imagery or copy to appear in the project, plot them as beats and build your script around it. Additionally, the easy to digest and highly visual nature of index cards make them an ideal presentation tool for pitch sessions and workshops with your clients.
Best of all, since Celtx’s index cards are automatically numbered, when you feel confident in the plot you’ve created you can automatically convert your cards into a script and instantly get writing on the finished product. If this has got you thinking about planning your next project in Celtx, the first step is easy: sign up for a free Studio trial with all of our planning tools included.
Index cards
Do you use the "index card" method when preparing to write a script and if so do you find that your screenplay fleshes out in the same order as you wrote it in the index cards?
–Ruble
For those who don’t know about index cards, it’s a technique a lot of screenwriters use. Each scene or sequence is given its own card. Then the cards are laid out, pinned up or otherwise arranged to figure out the best structure for the movie.
While I always outline scripts, for me it’s 50/50 whether I use index cards or not. For the CHARLIE’S ANGELS sequel they were a big help in pitching the movie, partly because each card had funny stick figures (e.g. "Car Wash Angels get the evidence"). I also used different colors for different types of sequences: action was always on purple cards, while narrative was blue. When you looked at the whole movie layed out on the table, it was easy to see the pacing. In discussing an individual scene, you could point at it.
For a lot of scripts, particularly those without action sequences, index cards might be a waste of time. A better bet would be to write up an outline or a treatment that lets you get a sense of the feel of the movie, not just the big beats. Whatever technique you use, remember that scripts develop their own logic. Use the cards or the outline as a map, not a Bible.
What do I put on my plot index cards for my screenwriting?
15. Plot like Dr. Evil: Get on track & stay on it
Are your screenplay’s index cards mini essays crammed onto tiny pieces of paper? Do your cards make little to no sense the day after writing them? Have you made an attempt at a beat sheet only to find you have to write on both sides of every index card because you have so much in each scene that just can’t be left out?
If you answered yes, or even kinda, to any of those questions, boy do we have the antidote to all your pain! Okay, maybe not your broken heart or that weird bunyon thing on your foot – but your writer’s pain for sure. We gots all the insider tricks used industry-wide so you can rock your beat sheet to the max.
Outline first, then plot beats
Sure, all that detail you so desperately want to put on those index cards is crucial – only it defeats the point of the cards in the first place. You need to write a story outline containing all the details of your story, which you can then summarize into the most succinct couple of sentences for each of your cards.
The cards are meant to represent the scenes, not delineate a breakdown of them. You have all your story’s essential details in the outline. The cards’ purpose is to help you plot the film with the most ease, so you can see your scenes’ placement at a glance without having to read paragraphs of prose.
When you write your outline, be sure it’s in the present tense – and don’t go overboard with detail. Avoid writing any dialogue unless it’s pivotal to understand the scene. Limit each scene to one paragraph, around eight to ten lines. This helps you focus your story for ease of reading and navigating later.
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Proper planning seems like lots of work – but actually saves work
Having these different stages to writing your story may seem like climbing Everest doing the crab – but you will soon find the fun in it, we promise! There’s nothing like shuffling your story around with index cards to find the best combination.
Having written a story outline, a beat sheet, and a final script is the best way to know your story like the back of your hand. So when people ask you “What’s your script about?”, you’ll be able to explain the story clearly, and they’ll be begging to watch it.
Taking your story through all these different stages filters all its problems so when you actually sit down and write your masterpiece, it’s freaking flawless!
Homework
You’re about to embark on the fun part – the part when you turn all those scrappy notes, your research folder, and whatever else you have into actual scenes. That wall in your room is gonna look mighty pretty when you’re finished with it!
Just beat it!
- Buy some 3×5” index cards and write your beats on them.
- Clear a big space on your wall.
- Beat out your story.
- Remember: keep the summaries MINIMAL.
- Alternative: if you’re more of a web person, use Trello instead.
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