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Welcome to the Story Grid Spreadsheet Template!
Below, you'll find instructions for using this template to fill out a Story Grid Spreadsheet for your project.
If you have any questions or feedback, please contact us at support@storygrid.com.
Instructions
1. Make a copy of the template.

Click here to make a copy.
2. Allow access to link this sheet back to the template. This will populate the dropdowns and data checks.
Make a copy first. (See step 1)
3. Enter the Global Story Characteristics in the top section.

If you are analyzing a prose work, select Words in cell B19. If you are analyzing a work best measured in timestamps (like a
film) select Time in cell B19.
4. Make sure you've selected the Global Genre in cell B7 on the Grid tab.
This will populate the Conventions and Obligatory Moments choices with the ones for your global genre.
If you have a global external genre, your secondary genre (B9) should be the internal genre, and vice versa.
5. Let's go over the columns:
Scene
Scene number.
Word Count
Word count of scene.
Chapter
Chapter Title
Chapter information that will help you find the scene. If you are working on an analysis for a work that does not need
these fields, click the first minus sign at the top of the sheet to collapse them.
Time
Starting Timestamp
Ending Timestamp
These columns replace Word Count, Chapter, and Chapter Title if you have selected to measure units in Time.
The sheet automatically calculates Time and Starting Timestamp, so all you have to do is enter the Ending Timestamp
for each scene. You can also edit the Starting Timestamp of Scene 1 (in cell C22).
Story Event
To determine a scene’s story event, answer these four questions:
1. What are the characters literally doing—that is, what are their micro on-the-surface actions?
2. What is the essential tactic of the characters—that is, what above-the-surface macro
behaviors are they employing that are linked to a universal human value?
3. What beyond-the-surface universal human values have changed for one or more characters
in the scene? Which one of those value changes is most important and should be included in
the Story Grid Spreadsheet?
4. The Scene Event Synthesis: What Story Event sums up the scene’s on-the-surface, above-
the-surface, and beyond-the-surface change? We will enter that event in the Story Grid
Spreadsheet.
Story Event Summary

Keep this brief (60 characters max, but ideally 30-40). It will be the label on the graph for the individual scene point.
Trope Scene Type

Take the events of the scene and abstract them to a level that is descriptive but does not rely on the specific context of
the Global Story. Express this as a trope. For example, "Stranger Knocks at the Door," "Savior Arrives," "Friends Have
Coffee," etc.
Note that there are 6 collapsed scene type columns. These are not required.
Value - Beginning of Scene
Value - End of Scene
Enter the beginning and ending values separately. For example, if Scene 1 shifts from Life to Death, enter "Life" in N21
and "Death" in O21.
Polarity - Beginning of Scene

Polarity - End of Scene
Use the dropdowns to choose the polarity of the beginning and ending values.
Turning Point Category

Active or Revelatory.
Turning Point Summary

Describe the turning point of the scene.
Point of View
Describe the point of view in the scene.
Period/Time
The point in time when the scene takes place.
Duration
The length of time over which the scene's events take place.
Location
Identify the location in which the scene takes place.
On-Stage Characters
List the names of characters who appear in the scene.
On-Stage Characters (Number)

Count the On-Stage Characters.
Off-Stage Characters
List the names of characters who are mentioned, but do not appear in the scene.
Off-Stage Characters (Number)

Count the Off-Stage Characters.
Quadrant
Use the dropdown to select the quadrant of the Global Story that this scene is in.
Convention
Obligatory Moment
The Conventions and Obligatory Moments dropdowns contain patterns.
You can replace any [bracketed text] with story-specific information.
For example, you can change the Love story Convention "[Character] is a Helper" to "Jane Bennet is a Helper"
You can choose multiple values per cell to allow you to identify scenes that fulfill multiple Conventions or Obligatory
Moments. When you select a new value, it will append to the existing cell contents to create a list separated by
semicolons. You can still edit bracketed text.
The only limitation to this is that if you select a value that's already in the list, it will act like you are trying to delete the
others and return only the new value. So, if you want to use the same pattern multiple times, follow these steps.
1. Select the pattern, e.g. "[Character] is a helper."
2. Edit it: "Jane Bennet is a helper."
3. Choose the pattern again. Now the cell's value is: "Jane Bennet is a helper.; [Character] is a helper."
4. Now you can edit the new brackets: "Jane Bennet is a helper.; Mrs. Bennet is a helper."
Global Five Commandment

Use the dropdown to identify when the Global Five Commandments take place.
You can choose multiple values per cell to allow you to identify scenes that contain multiple Commandments. When
you select a new value, it will append to the existing cell contents to create a list separated by semicolons.
others and return only the new value.
If you put multiple Commandments in one cell, you'll get a validation error, but you can ignore it. The Issues tab will
still detect your inputs accurately.
Quadrant Five Commandment

Use the dropdown to identify when each quadrant's Five Commandments take place.
You can choose multiple values per cell to allow you to identify scenes that contain multiple Commandments. When
you select a new value, it will append to the existing cell contents to create a list separated by semicolons.
others and return only the new value.
If you put multiple Commandments in one cell, you'll get a validation error, but you can ignore it. The Issues tab will
still detect your inputs accurately.
Global Genre Value Level

1. Identify which scenes are positive and which are negative on the Global Genre Life Value spectrum.
2. Rank the positive scenes. Let's say there are 15 positive scenes. The least positive scene (closest to neutral) will have
a value of 1, and the most positive scene will have a value of 15. Rank the others in between, with no duplicates.
3. Rank the negative scenes. Let's say there are 12 negative scenes. The least negative scene (closest to neutral) will
have a value of -1, and the most negative scene will have a value of -12. Rank the others in between, with no
duplicates.
Secondary Genre Value Level

Follow the same process as above evaluating and ranking scenes based on their Secondary Genre Life Value level.
Subplot Value Level

Subplots are optional.
If you want to track subplots in the same Global Genre as the main plot, follow the same process to assign scene value
rankings.
6. After you've filled out your sheet, check the "Issues to Resolve" tab to make sure that everything is filled in
correctly.
You can use the Notes column (Column D) if you need to keep track of any information while working through the list.
7. Review the Foolscap tab.

This is an automatically generated Foolscap view. You can change it by making adjustments to the Grid tab, or you can edit
these values directly (which does not affect the Grid).
If you clear the content of a cell, it will revert to the generated value.
8. Review the Infographic tab.

This is an automatically generated Infographic.

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Welcome to the Story Grid Spreadsheet Template!

1. Make a copy of the template.

3. Enter the Global Story Characteristics in the top section.

5. Let's go over the columns:

Story Event Summary

Trope Scene Type

Polarity - Beginning of Scene

Turning Point Category

Turning Point Summary

On-Stage Characters (Number)

Off-Stage Characters (Number)

Global Five Commandment

Quadrant Five Commandment

Global Genre Value Level

Secondary Genre Value Level

Subplot Value Level

7. Review the Foolscap tab.

8. Review the Infographic tab.

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