Planning a novel FROM SCRATCH with Save the Cat

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#writingadvice #novelwriting #savethecat
This week we are doing something a little different... planning a novel 100% from scratch using the Save the Cat beat sheet story structure!
I'm a pantser at heart so this is a challenge and I'm hoping a chance for me to dig into story structure, evaluate my own biases towards particular structures, and challenge my belief that structured planning is too restrictive for me. Who knows - maybe i'll produce an amazing novel outline... or maybe not.
To be clear - whilst i am discussing and testing this particular beat outline, it is not a requirement of save the cat that you go from zero idea on what you are writing to a complete beat sheet in the span of about an hour an a half. Thats an extra challenge i gave myself for the purpose of this video and clearly a very large restriction.
Save the cat website: savethecat.com/
Savannah Gilbo's summary: www.savannahgilbo.com/blog/pl...

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Опубликовано:

23 апр 2024

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Комментарии : 7

@gladiator652004 2 месяца назад

I remember mentioning Save the Cat to you many weeks ago! As it happens, I am planning at the moment. I have 24 pages in the ring binder for the 24 chapters. I thought I'd dreamed up a catalyst/inciting incident and a midpoint, but when I wrote it down it turned out to be two inciting incidents and now I need a new midpoint! That's probably good. I'm a planner and love these frameworks, but I think one can play around and tweak them a bit.

@DerpyGooseWrites 2 месяца назад

Yes definitely scope to play around with the frameworks and make them your own, do what makes sense for your story. I was expecting to find working to a framework hard (and it was, but coming up with ideas in a short time frame in general can be hard) but it was a lot more fun than I was anticipating! The structure I came up with definitely has a way to go, but I think the framework helped with getting some thoughts started and keeping some structure even if I wasn’t quite hitting every beat perfectly.

@gladiator652004 2 месяца назад

@@DerpyGooseWrites Yes, I have thought up a new midpoint (false victory) since an hour ago, which may have legs, so you are so right about how it gets thoughts started!

@alananimus9145 2 месяца назад

Fun and games is character development not filler

@DerpyGooseWrites 2 месяца назад

Good point and my apologies if I implied I thought the framework was designed or intended for that section to be filler. Not at all. My concern was more to the risk of it ending up filler if I wasn’t careful and didn’t, as you say, add the layers of development and ensure the section was an important part in the character’s journey. For the fun and games in my own plan, I want to come back once I’ve spent some time working on my characters as I don’t think I’m quite hitting the mark yet.

@alananimus9145 2 месяца назад

@@DerpyGooseWrites Not going to lie the Save the Cat isn't my favorite outline. My biggest problem with most outlines is they omit the cursed artifact. Here is a rough sketch of the outline I use. Something you may find interesting is that I don't write the first chapter until after the rest of the story is finished. The first chapter I write as a micro account of the story foreshadowing major events. The Catalyst Crossing the River Meeting Allies and Enemies Tests and Challenges Uncovering Secrets The Cursed Artifact Crossing the Second River Confronting the Curse The Curse is Defeated or Accommodated. Rebuilding Post-Curse Inner Growth The Road Home Redemption or Excommunication at home. The Final Journey The Road to Hell The Last defeat Final Victory Resolution The First Chapter

@DerpyGooseWrites 2 месяца назад

Thanks for sharing! Different approaches to outlining is quite the rabbit hole and I’m interested in playing around with a few different ones as part of trying my hand at a more planned approach to my usual pantsing : ) I usually end up completely rewriting the first chapter so definitely understand how leaving it to the end could be helpful : )