Featured Book of the Month
Blake Snyder has bravely subtitled his book, "The Last Book on
Screenwriting You'll Ever Need." But as they say, "it ain't
braggin' if you can back it up."
If, like most wannabe screenwriters, you've already purchased
screenwriting books by the shelf-full, Snyder's might indeed be the
last book you'll ever need. If you are new to screenwriting, you
could do a lot worse than to make this the first book that you buy.
Unlike most "how-to" books, "Save the Cat" goes beyond the "how's" and gets to the "why's."
Embedded in the "why's" are some very powerful secrets of
great storytelling. More important, also embedded are the secrets to
getting scripts sold.
The book's main tools and techniques are as follows:
* The four elements of every winning logline
* The seven immutable laws of screenplay physics
* The ten genres that every movie ever made can be catagorized
by - and why they're important to your script
* Why your Hero must serve your idea
* Mastering the Beats (Blake Snyders fifteen beats to a perfect
structure)
* Creating the "Perfect Beast" by using...The Board
* How to get back on track with proven rules for script
repair
Save the Cat's
main thrust is to introduce you to the "Blake Snyder Beat
Sheet" which are fifteen story beats that Blake insists are the
basis for nearly every successful screenplay. After defining
each beat, he gives you examples from successful films that illustrate
each beat and how it functions in the overall structure.
The beat sheet is probably the most useful technique introduced in the
book. It is a good starting point to teach you three act
structure and why it remains the dominant structure in Hollywood
produced movies. Now, there are two main kinds of writers out
there: The "free flow writers" who like to just jump in and
write their story and see where it takes them and the
"outliners" who would never even consider writing page one
without outlining the entire script. Of course there are other
types of writers but most fall into one of these two camps to one
degree or another. If you consider yourself to be a "free
flow writer" then this book will appear to you to have been
penned by the anti-christ. This book is ALL about structure and
outlining and clearly has disdain for the "free flow"
writing method. But if you are the type of writer who outlines
and believes that screenplays are all about structure, this this book
is Manna from Heaven.
Even the most ardent belivers in story structure might find the Blake
Snyder beat sheet to feel a bit formulaic. But like most
formulas, it is a starting point, a set of basic ingredients that can
be manipulated and tweaked to allow the author the ability to put
their own stamp and voice into their stories. The beats listed
are basic three act structure hanging points that will keep your story
moving, heighten the tension in Act Two, and resolve the story in a
satisfying manner in Act Three.
I have found the techniques particularly helpful in getting myself
going when all I have for a new script is the basic idea. By
applying the beats, you can help yourself quickly move from idea to
working outline.
Now let's be honest for a moment. Blake Snyder has made well
over a million dollars from selling scripts and being hired for
rewrite work. But he is no Lawrence Kasdan or Robert
Towne. You may feel that after reading his list of credits
(Stop! Or my Mom Will Shoot, Blank Check, Herbie Comes Home, and
others) that he is a middle of the road writer - or worse. I
agree that none of those movies are going to win any awards, but I
feel that that is actually additional proof that his concepts and
thoughts on structure are justified.
If even a middle of the road writer can routinely get scripts sold
using these techniques, than a good or great writer could use those
same techniques to not only get a script sold but to earn critical
acclaim at the same time. And isn't having a career the real
point here? There are tons of writers who have full time
screenwriting careers that have never won an Oscar and never even had
one of their scripts produced. But they are working writers who
get to do what they love - write scripts and be paid handsomely.
The book is written in a breezy, friendly style and offers real world
advice on becoming a working writer. Save the Cat will not make
you great screenwriter. That takes talent, discipline,
persistence and hard work. But we're sure that you will find the
tips and techniques very useful in writing that new screenplay or
helping you solve the issues in a "stuck" script.
StoryPros Verdict: Recommended
Save The Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
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