Save The Cat

 Review of Save the Cat by Blake Snyder

Ever since I was in junior high school I’ve loved watching movies and I even tried my hand at creating my own story. Looking back on it now I realize how simple it was but I had so much fun doing it. It was a science fiction story with time travel, cyborgs, magic, gods. Every thing I was interested in at the time. The one thing I didn’t have was a way to tell the story. Eventually I moved on and did other things but I never forgot that beginning. 

I have read other ‘How To’ books, most notably ones by K. M. Weiland. I’ve even tried to follow her blog. I’ve enjoyed what she says and have taken some of her ideas to heart but of course things get in the way and you push the desire to the wayside. 

With this book I hope to try again to follow my dream. As for the actual book itself I wail try to expand on the Goodreads review I did (partly in hopes of building a blog).

It was clear, concise and funny. He is very good and keeping his instructions simple while still being engaging. I’ve been trying to think of some ‘Save the Cat’ moments in books and movies but the best ones are subtle and difficult to pick out. The best recent example I can think of was from the Mandalorian. The bad guy was ready to dissect Grogu but Din, even after delivering him and fulfilling the contract, went back to save him kicking off the story. It showed more in that action than any amount of exposition could.

His tricks and ideas work. That’s the whole jist of his method. He has experience and proof in the form of residuals. Writing should be fun and it should pay but most of all it should tell a story. I have watched many stories trying to see if his methods work and the stories that have the tricks are more engaging. Stories that try to be too heavily handed and hide the message (Like Secret Invasion. I’m still not quite sure what they were trying to do.) while not giving us a satisfactory ending fall flat. 

We want to hear the stories. If they have excitement great. Romance, no problem. Sadness and death, bring it on. Just make it interesting enough to keep us willing to come back again. I’ve seen Die Hard more than 20 times. In hits all the beats.  I probably won’t see Secret Invasion more than the once.