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clayjs's review against another edition
4.0
A smart book for dumb people who want to write screenplays, Save the Cat! makes it about as easy as it could possibly be. Blake Snyder's shifty filmography and shiftier taste in movies aside, he's come closer than anyone else out there to conceiving of a usable formula for screenwriting. If you're interested in the way stories are structured in the industry, this is the Cliffnotes, and once you've read it, you'll be surprised how religiously its tenets are followed by Hollywood's story people.
drerinmac's review against another edition
3.0
An important book for the right point in one's career
chocolatequeen's review against another edition
5.0
This is a fantastic book on story structure. Many writing books focus on the words put on paper, but since Save the Cat is actually a screen writing book, the focus is on what happens next--the biggest question writers need to answer.
Snyder sold screenplays on spec, which means he conceived of his own ideas, wrote them, and then pitched the idea to production companies. He has some great tips on breaking down the plot of your story into something easy to explain, a talent which comes in handy when writing back cover copy or queries.
I have this book checked out from my library right now, but I'll be buying copy as soon as possible.
Snyder sold screenplays on spec, which means he conceived of his own ideas, wrote them, and then pitched the idea to production companies. He has some great tips on breaking down the plot of your story into something easy to explain, a talent which comes in handy when writing back cover copy or queries.
I have this book checked out from my library right now, but I'll be buying copy as soon as possible.
reickel's review against another edition
5.0
After my first read, I'd asked the author to take a quarter-step back from the book's PG-family-comedy-theatrical-release focus, and what did he do?! Nothing, because I wrote my voice-in-the-void Goodreads review in 2018 and Blake Snyder had already passed away, in 2009.
But on a re-read the book is much better, particularly because I've read his two sequels now, and they do a very good job of expanding the scope. This book is part of a trilogy, with a direct sequel and a sequel of clarification and examples. It's best as part of that book system, but it is excellent on its own. If you want more/diverse examples, look to the additional material. But the juice of the approach is all here.
Great book I've gifted and/or recommended many times.
*****
Original review, 4 stars:
Save the Cat delivers on its premise pretty perfectly. Here is a guide to plotting and structuring spec screenplays. I understand that's what Snyder set out to do, and he did it! I just feel like if he'd taken a quarter-step back from the PG-family-comedy-theatrical-release focus, the book would be stronger. My favorite for-instances were when he applied his talking points to rich and complex examples like Pulp Fiction, in stark contrast to describing a rule, and explaining how he followed that rule in writing the movie Blank Check.
That quibble aside, Snyder doesn't seem to hold anything back, and hits some really good points on telling good stories. It's a very practical albeit intentionally-niche piece of a good story-writing kit.
But on a re-read the book is much better, particularly because I've read his two sequels now, and they do a very good job of expanding the scope. This book is part of a trilogy, with a direct sequel and a sequel of clarification and examples. It's best as part of that book system, but it is excellent on its own. If you want more/diverse examples, look to the additional material. But the juice of the approach is all here.
Great book I've gifted and/or recommended many times.
*****
Original review, 4 stars:
Save the Cat delivers on its premise pretty perfectly. Here is a guide to plotting and structuring spec screenplays. I understand that's what Snyder set out to do, and he did it! I just feel like if he'd taken a quarter-step back from the PG-family-comedy-theatrical-release focus, the book would be stronger. My favorite for-instances were when he applied his talking points to rich and complex examples like Pulp Fiction, in stark contrast to describing a rule, and explaining how he followed that rule in writing the movie Blank Check.
That quibble aside, Snyder doesn't seem to hold anything back, and hits some really good points on telling good stories. It's a very practical albeit intentionally-niche piece of a good story-writing kit.
goosemixtapes's review against another edition
not a bible of any kind--snyder focuses on writing specifically for commercial audiences, with fairly formulaic stories, because he focuses on making money instead of making, like, super weird art--but i find the beat sheet in particular really helpful as someone who struggles with plotting! this review says the rest better than i can; it's for The Majority, but not unuseful.
gsatori's review against another edition
3.0
It has some good points, and with a bit of wit you can translate most of his screenwriting advice to novel writing. Most but not all.
His style is conversational here and he tends to speak down to his readers. Perhaps new writers will get the most from it.
His style is conversational here and he tends to speak down to his readers. Perhaps new writers will get the most from it.
kerrygibbons's review against another edition
3.0
Some good insights and trickster preparing your script, some general guidelines to follow... But everyone should realize there's no one-size-fits-all model doe ANYTHING creative. Yes, you're more likely to have commercial success if there's an act break on page 25, but beyond anything else, Mr Snyder acts as though drama was invented with the talkies! He doesn't talk about a five-act structure, symphonic structure, stage direction, etc.
It's no wonder I see so many formulaic movies.
That said, I'll be using this as a loose guideline moving forward.
It's no wonder I see so many formulaic movies.
That said, I'll be using this as a loose guideline moving forward.
writewanderread's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent! I use the Save the Cat format on my novels. It helps me keep the story and pace moving forward.
timdams007's review against another edition
5.0
+1 star for the funny titles for common concepts in writing, including the title. Great book. The author isnt full of himself and simply shares many great tips and motivational speeches. Each part is short and sharp, resulting in a small, yet incredible interesting book.
ericbuscemi's review against another edition
3.0
I read this after about the hundredth mention I saw of it on the r/movies subreddit. I could talk about how a lot of the advice is incredibly dated (the era of million dollar spec scripts not based on existing IPs is over) or about how the author's big claim to fame is writing a script for a movie which is 14% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes (Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot), but the truly astounding takeaway from this book is that it teaches you to write formulaically, down to which page every emotional beat should be on. Forget art, the author says, his method will sell. This screenwriting book is Exhibit A on the impact of late-stage capitalism on art. You may ask why I am still giving it three stars, and the answer is simple — it never pretends to be anything other than what it is, and its advice is solid (the bits on screenwriting, not the outdated bits on networking, etc.), that is, if your goal is to write a soulless screenplay that will now inevitably look like it was created by AI.