CardBeat

A digital corkboard for plotting your novel, screenplay or short story. CardBeat keeps all the fun things about index cards – and gets rid of all the rest.

Break your story into acts, sequences and scenes. Put each beat on a card, pin it to the board and shuffle until the structure works – without wasting ink or paper.

WRITE YOUR WAY
- Handwrite with Apple Pencil or just your finger – pens, pencils, markers and brushes in any color.
- Prefer typing? Every card takes keyboard input, too.
- Choose blank, lined, dotted or grid cards in different colors to track characters, subplots or timelines.

SEE THE WHOLE STORY
- Place cards anywhere on the board – no rows, columns or table cells. Turn on snap-to-grid when you want things tidy.
- Zoom out for the big picture, zoom in to work on a single scene.
- Working in a writers' room? Connect a TV, monitor or projector and show a clean view of the board while you plot.

SHARE AND SYNC
- Your boards stay in sync across iPhone and iPad with iCloud – or turn sync off with a single switch.
- Export a board as a PDF for feedback, or as a CardBeat file your co-writer can import and keep working on.

PRIVATE BY DESIGN
No accounts, no ads, no third-party analytics. CardBeat doesn't collect any data.

FREE TO START
Plot up to two boards for free. Unlock unlimited boards with a one-time purchase – no subscription.