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srsbunburyist 's review for:
Save the Cat!: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
by Blake Snyder
First of all, I'm not an aspiring screenwriter. I am an aspiring fiction writer. That being said, I thought that this book had a ton of helpful insight on the thing that I often struggle with the most: structure.
He does offer plenty of other tips and tricks, like the title's Save the Cat moment, but I think overall the real value in this book is in the straight foward way that Snyder approaches structure. His narrative voice, while cloying at times, breaks down films (and stories in general) in a way that is simple and relatable. He gives a great blueprint for designing your plot, which might be the most helpful piece in the whole book.
I think that this book is not for those who chafe at self-satisfied narrators, which is pretty evident from the other comments I've read. However, if you can get past Snyder's constant puffy hearts around the two screenplays he's gotten made into movies (Stop or My Mom Will Shoot and Blank Check), there is a wealth of really great information here.
He does offer plenty of other tips and tricks, like the title's Save the Cat moment, but I think overall the real value in this book is in the straight foward way that Snyder approaches structure. His narrative voice, while cloying at times, breaks down films (and stories in general) in a way that is simple and relatable. He gives a great blueprint for designing your plot, which might be the most helpful piece in the whole book.
I think that this book is not for those who chafe at self-satisfied narrators, which is pretty evident from the other comments I've read. However, if you can get past Snyder's constant puffy hearts around the two screenplays he's gotten made into movies (Stop or My Mom Will Shoot and Blank Check), there is a wealth of really great information here.