Visible story hierarchy
Preserve Fountain section depth while keeping synopses and scene headings in exact document order.
Free · private browser tool
Free Fountain Screenplay Outline Extractor
Turn Fountain sections, synopses, scene headings, and opening action into an ordered visual story map with clean Markdown export.
Opens as a new Plot project once you sign in or create a free account. Inkwell keeps this copy for 24 hours.
Structural outline
2 scenes
Built only from explicit Fountain structure—no invented beats.
- Sections
- 3
- Synopses
- 2
- Scenes
- 2
Choose the handoff detail
Keep the visual map concise or add first-action previews for a more useful revision and writers'-room handoff.
Story map
Sections preserve Fountain depth; synopses and scenes remain in document order.
Section level 1
ACT ONE
Synopsis
A late-night broadcast appears to answer the hosts.
Section level 2
The pattern
Scene 1
INT. COMMUNITY RADIO STATION - NIGHT
Rain needles the windows. LEAH watches the soundboard peak.
Synopsis
The pair follow the signal into the storm.
Section level 2
The source
Scene 2
EXT. RADIO TOWER - LATER
Leah and Omar climb through wet grass toward the blinking tower.
Useful output, not a score
What this tool gives you
Scene-level orientation
Optionally include the first action block from each scene to make a revision or room handoff easier to scan.
Editable Markdown
Copy or download a lightweight outline for a wiki, planning document, issue, or writers'-room agenda.
How to use it
- 1
Structure the Fountain draft
Use # section lines, = synopsis lines, and standard scene headings wherever they help describe the story.
- 2
Extract the story map
The browser preserves those explicit elements and captures an optional opening-action preview for each scene.
- 3
Tune and export
Show or hide action previews and scene numbers, then copy or download the outline as Markdown.
Questions writers ask
Does this automatically invent a beat sheet?
No. It preserves explicit Fountain sections, synopses, and scene headings. That makes the output deterministic and keeps creative interpretation with the writer.
What are Fountain sections and synopses?
A line beginning with one or more # characters creates a nested section; a line beginning with = creates a synopsis. Both are planning elements and do not appear in a normal screenplay export.
What is included in the Markdown file?
It includes the preserved section hierarchy, blockquoted synopses, and a list of scenes. You can optionally add scene numbers and the first action block from each scene.
Defined in the glossary
Step Outline
A scene-by-scene (or beat-by-beat) outline that lists what happens in order — more granular than a beat sheet, leaner than a treatment's prose narrative.
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.
Synopsis
A short prose summary of a whole story, ending included, written so an agent, producer or contest reader can judge the plot without reading the full script or manuscript.
Scene Heading (Slugline)
A scene heading, or slugline, is the line in capitals that opens each scene in a screenplay. It says whether the scene is interior or exterior, where it takes place and the time of day, for example INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT. Production breakdowns and schedules are built from it.
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