Screenplay Tension Curve — Story Structure Simulator

Script Setup

Script length 110 pages

Midpoint position 50%

Climax intensity 100%

Pacing Style

Live Readouts

Runtime

110 min

Climax page

page 102

Act 2 avg. tension (sagging-middle check)

0.00

How it works

Dramatic tension T at normalised script position t∈[0,1] (t = page ⁄ total pages) is modelled as a slowly rising baseline plus a sum of Gaussian "beats" placed at the classic turning points of a three-act structure:

T(t) = 0.12 + slope·t + Σᵢ hᵢ · exp( -(t-μᵢ)² / (2σ²) )

beats μᵢ: Opening (0.02), Inciting Incident (0.12),
          Midpoint (adjustable), All Is Lost (0.78), Climax (0.93)

Each beat contributes a bump of height hᵢ and width σ (the "pacing style" — narrower σ for a punchier Rollercoaster script, wider for a Slow Burn). The tube's height and colour along the 3D curve trace T(t) directly; 1 script page is conventionally ≈ 1 screen minute, so the x-axis doubles as runtime.

Midpoint slider — moves the story's central reversal earlier or later, reshaping both halves of Act 2.
Climax intensity — scales hᵢ for the final beat only, showing how a weak finale flattens the curve's peak.
Act 2 avg. tension — the mean of T(t) over t∈[0.25, 0.75]; screenwriters call a low value here the "sagging middle," a common note in script coverage.

High tension Low tension Story beat

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