Pebblepup's Writing Den

A really nice tool in your writer’s toolbox is the story treatment. A story treatment is a document that contains the premise of the story, a synopsis of it, and an expansion of the acts. It also lists the characters and any plot notes you might have.

A story treatment usually is a good way to examine an idea and determine whether its worth spending more time and energy on.

A story treatment can form part of the background work a writer must do before starting work on the rough draft. It can form a basis of a work. The author can refer to it while writing the draft.

The internet has several examples for a beginner to look at. Just enter the term “story treatment” into your favorite search engine and take a look.

A good story treatment should hold the idea, a log line, a synopsis, a list of characters, and what are basically synopses of each of the acts. You can add notes if you wish.

The story treatment should five to ten pages long. The best story treatments are an expansion on the beat sheet, when all is said and done.

To create one, complete a beat sheet first. Then begin your story treatment by listing the log line. Then introduce your main characters.

Then write a synopsis of the entire story. Once you do that, expand on the structure, doing a synopsis of each act in the work. This is where the completed beat sheet comes in. Expand the beats into a paragraph. Try for one paragraph per beat. That will help you figure out what you need to deal with.

That’s the basics. When you finish it, you will have a document that you can refer to as needed. It can hold everything you might need. You can include any notes you think of.

A document of five to ten pages is a wonderful resource to refer to. It can hold all the notes you might want to have.

A story treatment is just a tool. You can, of course, tweak it in anyway you choose. So add a story treatment to your writer’s toolbox if you feel you can use one. It may not be for everyone, but if you are stuck, try a story treatment. It can make the writing process easier over time.

A story treatment can also be a good way to store your ideas. It can be a great reference tool while you are writing and that’s hard to beat. It’s a good way to determine whether a story is worth developing or not. That is, after all, it’s purpose. So when you are unsure if an idea is worth any work, use a story treatment to check it out. It is a good way to plan your story. Good luck and keep writing.