Writing A Novel With Save The Cat (Complete Guide) 

You tapped into the collective unconscious of the gestalt Human overmind, the grand unity of the All... or distilled a lifetime of cultural storytelling into a single pastiche. Why not both?

Why do you feel heartbroken over it? I did the same thing but would describe this proud feeling as heartwarming if anything! I definitely do not feel sad or as if my heart was torn in two, so I’m intrigued to know why you’d use the word heartbreaking for this feeling, as a writer ✍🏽

ouch, cringe

@@georginadrake4050yeah, I was confused by that description as well, i thought it'd be something like "elated". curious to know the answer to this as well

But why is it "heart breaking"? Is it because you wanted more growth? Something extra to add?

I haven't read Blueprint for a Book-I'll have to check it out, thanks for the recommendation!

Literally all "good novels" follow these structures. The twists and turns are even part of the structure, if you read it and paid any attention.

You're welcome! So happy to hear my videos have been helpful!

You're welcome, thanks for watching!

Thank you, so glad to hear my video was helpful-more videos on the way!

man just showed up; he isn't even rated yet

Thank you!!

Great question! I haven't dove into this combination too much, so I may be off here, but I think they could be used together to an extent. If I'm remembering correctly, Sanderson has said that while he doesn't use outlining techniques such as Hero's Journey or Save the Cat in the initial phases of his projects, he does find them useful as a diagnostic tool later. So, he might use his own outlining technique initially, then as he writes the story if he realizes something is missing, he'll go through the Save the Cat (or other similar strategies) beat sheet to identify which key plot moments need more work.

@@YarnRay Wow thats interesting. I'm plotting a novel right now and I dont really want to use Save the Cat or Heroe's Journey because I find them predictable at times, but the structure is so evergreen that its hard to abandon them. I will definitely be trying to incorporate Sandersons and Save the Cat in my process now! Thanks for your help!

You can use it for practically anything, it's a guide to build tension and pace. Think of a movie you like or a series, and try to compare this beat sheet with how the story in the show is crafted

It's applicable.

It's not "swiping." If you go to the actual, *official* Save the Cat website, her books are there, right alongside Blake Snyder's originals. _No one_ ever said she invented Save the Cat - she credits Blake Snyder with the original herself.

Jessica Brody does NOT claim to have created this idea. She gives credit to Blake Snyder always.

He's just summarizing something that was sourced from a book. Second, this is an insecure thing to say, inevitably, there will always be someone younger and also more knowledgeable, everyone knows something someone else doesn't.

@@CoolOkay_ insecure? lol

@@SMacCuUladh Yes, very insecure. If you refuse to allow that someone younger than you could know something you don't, it's not only insecure, but illogical. There are millions of people younger than you who know all sorts of things you don't. If you refuse to learn from them, you're cutting yourself off from sources of knowledge for no reason other than shallow bias, and that's very much your loss.

Explain please.

@@josephcusumano2885 The ideas in "Save The Cat" are not wrong to say, but many people use them like robots. 1 > 2 > 3 > 4 you never feel like any of the characters are real, let alone the world. mind you, even if your novel is soulless and ever one in it feel like a automaton, it can still sell well if it comes out at the write time. A friend of my written a novel for kids, the main protagonist was male. every publisher told him the same thing "we like the story, but looking for female protagonist" so he changed it to a female one, and got published. my point is this: Don't write what you love, write but the publisher wants. that is, if you write for money.

​@@blackjew6827 Yup, that's true.