Save The Cat - Screenwriting for Novelists

Save the Cat is a book for screenwriters that gets a lot of airtime on blogs. I don't do screenwriting, but I did find Writing Screenplays that Sell contained valuable advice for novelists. You can see my post along with a free PDF download on that book here:

Writing Novels: Formulas and Structures

Save the Cat contained a lot of personal experiences in the movie business and Snyder does go through some of the necessities like creating the perfect logline. In fiction this is usually called the elevator pitch. It's that one or two sentences that sum up your whole story.

So what do you need for a good logline?

• Irony. Think commitment phobic reporter must pretend to be marrying his working partner to get the story of a lifetime from a mobsters wife who happens to be a wedding coordinator. Irony is great for stories, you can see a post here if you need help: Get a Little Irony in your Diet.
• Imagery. You need to be able to see the whole movie in that one sentence. Conceited prince gets turned into an ugly beast is not enough, you need to add 'and must convince someone to love him as the beast to break the spell'. Now we have the whole story.
• Market. The logline should acknowledge who it's aimed at. It should be clear if it is a children's story or a romantic comedy. This will help sell your manuscript.
• Include the title. I'm not sure if this works if you have a working title that will probably change once published. But once the title is set in stone it will help promote your novel.

Snyder also explains the need for a catalyst moment in the first ten pages. That's not the main conflict, it can be as small as a phone call telling Miss Jones she has inherited a fortune, but only if she spends one whole night at terror castle, it can be a kid truanting school only to find that will be the reason they later stumble on a dead body. Or, in the case of a lot of murder mysteries, it can be the discovery of the first victim.

Overall this was a good book for screenwriters with some helpful advice for novelists, but I think Michael Hauge's book is still my favourite.

Now I'm reading:

I hope to find out if I've been doing everything wrong online :)