Save the Cat!

Publisher's Summary

Here's what started the phenomenon: This book has been a best seller for over 15 years and has been used by screenwriters around the world! Blake Snyder tells all in this fast, funny, and candid look inside the movie business. Save the Cat is just one of many ironclad rules for making your ideas more marketable and your script more satisfying. Others include these: 

• The four elements of every winning logline 
• The seven immutable laws of screenplay physics 
• The 10 genres that every movie ever made can be categorized by - and why they're important to your script 
• Why your hero must serve your idea 
• Mastering the 15 beats 
• Creating the perfect beast by using the board to map 40 scenes with conflict and emotional change 
• How to get back on track with proven rules for script repair 

This ultimate insider's guide reveals the secrets that none dare admit, told by a show biz veteran who's proven that you can sell your script if you can save the cat.

©2005 Blake Snyder (P)2018 Dreamscape Media, LLC

little full of himslef but is very helpful.

Has helpful tips if you cant figure out why somthing isnt working or dialog is lacking he gives you some nice tools to use. overall its a good one to read!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

overall really good advice

I had heard about this book from many people with stealer reviews and it lives up to the expectation. The writer gives solid advice to build a screenwriting foundation off of but there are a lot of rules I think could be more flexible that the writer insist are concrete. Overall would 100% recommend to aspiring screenwriters.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Nothing special

Honestly, i think the book is quite mediocre. I didn't find it particularly useful nor did i learn very much from it. Great narration, though.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A great insider look

I loved the insider's comment and experience that has been included in this book. I have read several books on screenwriting and this one is the most complete overview of the process.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fantastic Guide.

Very insightful and informative. While listening to this book I had multiple moments of clarity on one of my current projects, several "Ah Ha!" moments, and overall came away feeling more confident in my work. I take away several new tricks to try and will surely revisit the book in the future as well.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Best book I have read on writing screenplays.

I have read a lot of books about screenwriting, movie making, etc, and the Save The Cat series is the first that have gone beyond telling me I need pen and paper and software and selling skills and actually taught me things that have convinced me to change things in my scripts.

I thought I had my stories pretty well "fleshed out", but this book teaches you that at a certain number of minutes into a film, you should have specific things established. And at other points, you should pivot your story to another point.

Like all common sense, this may sound like a "well duh" statement once said, but that's the thing about common sense: Everyone thinks they knew it before it was said, but how many applied it? This book teaches you how your script needs to be broken down, how you may need to add plot points to have the pivots needed, etc.

This isn't just how to arrange and how to find an agent, it is literally at what minute in a 90 minute film you should be making this story point and that story pivot.

This original in the series is better in my opinion than the Strikes Back follow up, but both are good and make good companion pieces.

5 of 7 people found this review helpful

Indispensable Guide To Screenplay Writing

For movie appreciators and for those that want to make a career of screenwriting, I believe this book to be indispensable. When I watch movies now I see how and why at minute 25 the B story “love interest” is regularly introduced and why it serves the overall film. It’s shocking to see how the “all is lost” moment occurs midway through movies and happens over and over again. This may be depressing at first but really it’s an explanation for tried and true screenplay writing rules and if you’re going to venture out and break them, you’ll want to know what the reasons are for the traditional route so you can better be able to justify breaking convention. Best of luck to all the movie creators out there. I listened to this on audiobook and it’s great!

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Interesting

This was an interesting book about screenwriting, that had some really good points. I really like the beats and what is needed.

I recommend the book- although the movies he likes are not what I like-- they all have the same structure.

I will continue to ponder this book. Granted listening to the book via audio is like drinking from a fire hose!

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Excellent foundation

I read this book to accompany a screenwriting class, although my screenwriting is awful, this book laid an excellent foundation for concepts I had no idea about.

I look forward to reading the next in the series.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

If you only read one...

This shouldn’t be the only book on screenwriting you read, but it may be the only one you’ll keep coming back to.

It’s shockingly astute if you can reject the myth that writing is a magical process. And, if you can overcome a writer’s ego that the “laws” of this craft can ACTUALLY be articulated most accurately by phrases like “Save the Cat” or “pope in the pool.”

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Brilliant

A very well-organized book taking you through the writing process from idea to script completion. Blake Snyder gets what it's like to be a writer and has perfect ways of communicating his point to the reader. I'll always come back to this book if I'm stuck on an issue. It also helps that Superman is narrating.

Incredibly helpful

Really enjoyable and incredibly helpful would very much recommend to any kind of writer. I'd love to hear more.

Lots of practical advice and industry tips.

Having an audible version made life so much easier as I could listen on the move.

Solid advice but occasionally dated.

structure and breakdown approach is a great way to assess your work and a good lense to view scripts through. However, the modern landscape of movies has changed massively and some of the advice has dated as a result. still a good read and fascinating approach.

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Love it so much. perfect for screenwriters and learning on the go after reading the actual book