# Treatment > A present-tense prose summary of the story — usually a few to several pages — used to pitch and develop before a full script exists. Also known as story treatment ## In practice A treatment earns its pages by making causality obvious: each turn should force the next, not merely list events in order. Readers should feel why the protagonist cannot go home after the mid-story blow, and why the ending is the only honest landing for the premise you are selling today. Write in present tense and favor visual cause over interior essay. If a paragraph only works as novel psychology, translate it into behavior and consequence on the page. Tone can live in word choice, but the job is still story logic a buyer can follow without reading the full script first. Keep the treatment close to the screenplay work — a linked Plot project for a longer packet, or an early draft line while you are still outlining. When notes kill a turn, update the treatment before you polish dialogue — a pretty line will not rescue a broken causal chain, and mismatched packets waste meetings you cannot get back. ## Common questions ### Should a treatment spoil the ending? Yes for development and most buyer asks. They are testing whether Act Three works, not whether you can tease. Hide-the-ending treatments waste the read. ### Is a treatment the same as a synopsis? No. A treatment is usually richer development prose. A synopsis is a shorter complete plot report optimized for coverage and applications. ### When do I stop treating and start scripting? When the major turns and ending hold under cold questions. If you are still inventing the midpoint every draft, keep treating — pages will only freeze the confusion. ### Where should I keep treatments in Inkwell? Beside the screenplay in Plot, not stranded in a separate drive. Named save points help you keep the version that sold the room while you revise. ## Related terms - [Beat sheet](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/beat-sheet): A short outline of a story’s key moments — the beats — used to plan structure before or during drafting without writing every scene yet. - [Spec script](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/spec-script): A screenplay written on speculation — no deal yet — meant to sell the story or showcase craft. Specs usually skip production numbering and camera direction. - [Pilot](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/pilot): The first episode of a series — the script that proves characters, tone, and the engine that can run for seasons. Often the draft a room or network judges hardest. - [Logline](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/logline): One or two sentences that capture protagonist, conflict, and stakes — the shortest honest pitch of the story. --- Canonical page: