I bought this book cause I've had some ideas floating around in my head that I wanted to see if I could perhaps make into a screen play. I have no formal education in screenwriting and the information I do know about writing a movie, I learned from online resources. So for a beginner like me this book was filled with TONS of useful information how I could turn a basic idea in my head into a fully fledged movie script. I was debating on which book to buy to help me get started and bought this one because every online resource I looked at, all of them mentioned this book. Some people bashed it but I think that's cause they're more advanced writers and have their own formula for coming up with the structure for a movie.
What I like about this book is that it takes out the guess work for you. It lays out a structured outline for you to follow. Snyder created what he calls the Blake Synder Beat Sheet and literally every movie I could think of follows its formula. He tells you "you should introduce your main character by this page, set the theme of the movie by this page, create a conflict by this page, etc..." Snyder also uses movies as examples, showing how they followed this tempo. He has good ideas on how to create meaningful, 3 dimensional characters and even how to create a B story that helps the main story flow better. I wouldn't have thought of any of this had I not read this book.
What I don't like is how Snyder is sometimes a little too "by the numbers" when it comes to writing a script. He literally says the break from act 1 to act 2 HAS to happen on page 25. Not page 24, not page 26 but on page 25. I don't agree with that. While you obviously don't want it to come too early or too soon, I don't see a need for it to happen on exactly page 25 of every single script ever written. He goes to make it sound like the big wigs at studios reading your script will toss it in the garbage if they don't find it on page 25. That's simply not true and I feel like it's forcing people to pace THEIR story at HIS speed.
He also goes on to bash other great movies cause they didn't follow HIS pace. This guys claim to fame is writing Disneys "Blank Check" mind you. I don't believe in making others look bad to make yourself look good and that's kind of what he does for a bit in the book. He disses movies like Dantes Peak, Memento, Along Came Polly, etc.. but raves about other mediocre movies like 4 Christmases and miss congeniality cause they followed his cookie cutter methods.
So to sum it up, I'm glad I bought this book because I did learn a lot by reading it. I definitely feel more confident in writing my script now and figuring out how to fill in the blanks when I wasn't sure in what direction the story should go in. While I don't think his "by the numbers" method is ideal for every script, it does help me know how to set my own pace for my own movie so I don't get carried away with one act of the story over the other. If your a beginner like me and are looking for a little guidance on how to create a story, this book is a great help!
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About the author
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If you’ve been writing fiction for any length of time, you’ve probably heard about Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat series of books. They’re books that were originally written to help screenwriters improve their craft, but became quite popular among writers of many creative disciplines because they provide a very accurate, concise, and some would even say easy plot model. As you know, constructing a plot from nothing can be difficult. These books, especially the first one, provide a way to do so without inducing paralyzing anxiety. I dare say that they’re a necessity for every writer who wants to get published.What’s In Save the Cat?A tabby cat dangling from a rope, with the words "Save the Cat: the Last Book on Screenwriting That You'll Ever Need" above it.In Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting That You’ll Ever Need, Snyder describes 15 “beats” or benchmarks that every plot needs to have, no matter the medium it’s displayed in. Whether words or moving pictures are used to tell a story, it should always start with an opening image and progress throughTheme StatedSet-upCatalystDebateBreak Into TwoB StoryFun and GamesMidpointBad Guys Close InAll is LostDark Night of the SoulBreak Into ThreeFinaleFinal ImageAll of these benchmarks—aptly described in the book—should lend themselves towards showing the main character doing something, being proactive. This could mean saving a cat, going with Hagrid to Hogwarts and leaving a known life behind, or undergoing a makeover to become an undercover beauty queen. It’s the essence that defines who the hero is and makes the reader like him or her.Who Would Like Save the Cat, And Why?As mentioned, anyone who’s serious about writing The Greatest Book of All Time. It’s designed, Snyder says, primarily for writers who intend to pitch/query agents in mainstream movie-making and publishing. I think that’s because it’s based on the premise that you’ll use one- to two-sentence descriptions of each of those beats to pitch to agents. Although there are many, many plot models out there—three-act structure, hero’s journey, dramatica, etc.—this is the one I’ve found to be the easiest and smoothest. It’s a compromise between totally outlining and just “pantsing” it: enough structure (and the right kind of it) to get your story started, but not so much that it overwhelms your creativity before you even start writing a book. It’s also very helpful in showing the main character proactively progressing through the book’s plot, not just reacting to various crises.Find the full review of this book, as well as many other writerly advice posts, at HeadOverTales.com.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2021
- Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2008
Top reviews from other countries
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KarineReviewed in Brazil on January 4, 2023
Uma excelente dica para qualquer tipo de roteirista ou escritor
- Avid ReaderReviewed in Canada on November 9, 2021
Great Book - Written by a Writer Who Actually Sold a Couple $1M Scripts in Hollywood
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