Blake SnyderReseñas

I've heard authors recommend this book, and say that it's helpful for writing/structuring your novel. While I do see some helpful points in here, I also see a lot that doesn't pertain to novelists, so I'm confused as to why this book is recommended so much. World building is such an important part of a novel, especially a high fantasy novel. The "bad guy" doesn't necessarily have to stay bad, they can grow and change too. You don't have to avoid complexity with your characters or plot. Overall, I didn't see this one being as helpful as some people claim. I noticed there is another Save the Cat book, but that one is Save the Cat Writes a Novel, and it looks like it's written specifically for authors/novelists, so I'll probably check that one out and hopefully it's more helpful than this one.

This is a good fundamental overview of story telling. it is aimed primarily at screenwriters. He gives a sort of template into which most successful films must fit. It's not a how-to but useful as goad to thinking clearly about what a writer is doing and how he's got stuck.

Wow, oh, wow! I learned SO much about story structure from this book. I devoured it on the beach in Mexico, then read it a second time on the plane home, highlighting and furiously taking notes. I've never had so many "aha!" moments when reading anything before. I don't think I'll ever watch movies without trying to break them down into Snyder's "beats" -- and that's a good thing! There's so much here I can apply to structuring my work. A truly inspirational book that I'll be reading again and again. (A )

Is it helpful? Yeah, it's helpful. And at times, it's even enjoyably clever. But for the most part, Snyder is a misogynistic asshat whose mouth I want to shove a very stinky sock inside. And then use duct tape. And then put on ear muffs just in case he can still talk. And then maybe break his fingers or something so he cant' write any more self-help books.

This is a Harvey Weinstein sort of DIY on screenwriting. The obvious misogyny is just way too blatant to ignore or move past, if you're a female writer (a notion that apparently never crosses Snyder's mind).

I would not recommend this book. To anyone. For any reason - even if it was the last book on screenwriting on the planet.

It's definitely about screen-writing, but is a great beginner book for general story-telling and fiction-writing.

It has a handful of basic realities about screenwriting that are good to think about (eg at the time of writing, men under 25 are the main target group so things have to appeal to them) but much more than that is basic advice about keeping your characters' motivations relatable, keeping side-characters memorable and other good advice about structuring fiction that's presented with the right amount of structure-your-creativity to make it resonate well with me.

Same great narrator as the audiobook version of Save the Cat! Again, if you are an actual screenwriter, get the actual book, not the audiobook. I thought it would be an interesting listen, but after repeating the gist of the Save the Cat methodology, the author just shows you how various movies match up to his beat sheet. It is well written and a good summary of a movie, in case you don't want to see it yourself, but there is very little insight--just a lot of examples from the 10 genres. NOT recommended.

First, I listened to the audiobook, which was very well read indeed. However, if you actually plan to write screenplays, you should certainly get the actual book. Snyder's step-by-step method may take the wind out of your sails, but it rings true at every point. As he discusses what makes a screenplay work or not (and by "work" he means it will sell), the truth is pretty self-evident, whether we want to admit it or not. It is hard work putting together a story that hits all the "beats" and doesn't have gaping holes. And the only way to have a chance at getting it right is to follow some basic rules such as he outlines here. One of the great things about this book is that it doesn't prat on endlessly about each rule. Snyder's writing is to the point, often very funny, and he acknowledges and answers criticisms along the way. He seems like a great guy, which makes his sudden death at age 51 in 2009 so sad. This is a book mostly about the mechanics of screenwriting, but he also gives a few pointers on marketing your screenplay and provides some interesting anecdotes. There is nothing radical or maverick about any of this, of course. It is written by an insider who understands how Hollywood works and has no problems with the system. But no matter how much of an individual you are or how unique you think your story is, you should benefit from such a clear description of a structure that works. Or, if you're like me and just enjoy movies, it is an entertaining look at why so many movies are so much the same and why so many of them don't work.

Although I don't aspire to be a screenwriter, I found that this book offered great insights into storytelling in general. There's much here that I think could be applied to the writing of a novel, or even a short story. I was particularly interested in finding out more about the story "beats" Snyder is known for, and the explanations were very revealing.

The style is conversational and casual, but there's a lot of information contained within. The author uses many examples from well-known movies to illustrate his points (which made me want to go and watch the movies, in many cases!).

As a writer, I think it's always good to find new ways of thinking about stories and storytelling, and understanding what we're trying to do when we tell a story. This book has certainly made me think about storytelling from a different and valuable perspective. Highly recommended for writers of all stripes.

Fantastic beginner's guide to screenwriting. Funny and pragmatic. A bit rigid, but how can you start breaking rules until you know about them? I'm not a writer but this was very useful in helping me learn about the structure of films

Lots of good stuff in here for all writers. Lots of stuff that doesn't apply if your not writing a screenplay as well, but it is worth the read despite that. His beat sheet and the story board ideas are gold.

Some books are meant to help you learn how to write and some are meant to help you speak to a producer.

Some books are meant to help you learn how to write and some are meant to help you speak to a producer.

I love his approach to story structure, and plan to employ it in all my writing.

It didn't age well, especially on gender and other diversity issues. No wonder the comedies of the late 90s all seem really meh now.

An average book on screenwriting.

Another book recommended to me by another writer. It provides tips and methods I found to be quite useful. Straight-forward, humorous, and an easy read! Note: Screenwriter books are a great asset to ALL fiction writers. This is one of my favorites!

Despite the fact this is a book about screenwriting, I'd heard so much about it from fiction writers that I decided to read it. I can't see what all the fuss is about. Aside from succinctly laying out a plot structure and beat sheet, it just seemed full of self aggrandising anecdotes, "when I worked with this great script writer," "when I met with director blah blah," "When I wrote a script that sold for a million," followed by an attempt at sounding humble, "I made so many horrible mistakes." I didn't get on with it at all. Maybe it's because I am not a fan of comedy and absolutely hated 'Stop! Or my Mom Will Shoot'. I found myself skimming over a lot of this book. I was after information, not reminiscences. You could strip two thirds out of this and still get the same info. Perhaps I am being too harsh, or perhaps it is because I have read many other books that were published both before and after this that said the same thing in far fewer words and with less back patting. If you are writing a screenplay, you probably will get more out of it than I did.

I sought this book to learn more about the monomyth and a "formula" for a winning story. This book has that, but it's important to be a filter and not a sponge when reading it.

I heard of this book from an Imgur post when Blake Snyder died. It laid out the steps of every top-grossing Hollywood movie. (This poster applied it to Frozen.) I'm always up for anything that makes writing easier so I kept it favorited until I had a chance to really break it down.

But there's more to this book than just "the formula". It's also making sure that you have everything needed to sell a script. Like log lines, a catchy title, and things that don't matter so much in the book-writing world.

And the biggest reason you need to be a filter is that this guy makes claims that he's made hundreds of thousands in residuals, been in the industry long enough to know the keys failures and successes, like he's Ron Popeil selling a juicemaster. He's been called "Hollywood's most successful spec screenwriter". The problem? Check out this guy's IMDb page. His claim to fame is Blank Check which was harshly lampooned by The Nostalgia Critic. Second place? Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. Occasionally he uses, as examples, older movies and movies I've never heard of. I would think if you want to be successful, you want to keep your case studies as current and outstanding as possible.

So this makes you think "why should we listen?" The answer is because, sometimes, people are better at teaching than doing. And while there are flaws in the technique, the content is solid. Well, I don't know if it works or not, but if you're wise, there's things inside that I believe can help you with writing.

There's tons of books about screenwriting and writing out there...but very few of them are as fun, easy-going, and even exciting to read as this one.

If you've read very many how-to "write" books, there's not a lot of new information under the sun. However, Snyder does a fantastic job making the subject upbeat. His tone is very motivational. I can see why it's so highly recommended and even used as a textbook for some writing classes/workshops.

I would definitely pass it along to someone who is just beginning their writing journey or someone who needs a little pick-me-up. I wish I'd found it several years ago.

Entertaining and useful! While focused on screenwriting, this also works well to inform novelists in marketable story structure and, to a lesser degree, provides guidance on seeking out an agent. Blake's Board and Beat Sheet are some of the most useful storytelling tools I've encountered. He delineates his creative process in simple, clear terms, and establishes guidelines the can help any writer clarify her story.

Solid advice, presented in a relatively easy-to-use way, but there's not much new here. The author's personality sometimes grated on my nerves, but at least you knew where he was coming from.

Here is a review since I have several writer friends hooked up with me here who might want to know (wait no longer Roxy!) Pro: It does give some good ideas for structure, and makes me want to read more about screenwriting. I can see how it can help a person like me who is all over the place set up some firm guidelines and actually, possibly finish a book. In fact, it makes it look kind of easy. Cons: 1)I am not writing a movie. This is very specific to an exact 110 page screenplay. The structure must be tweaked and quite loosely applied to a novel. 2) This book is better (for both screenwriters and novelists) if you do not already have a complete work written before you apply this process. This would be great to start something fresh. But I'm finding it to be really hard to apply to my own story, and I'm not sure if I should. Need to read a few more screenwriting books first. Sorry so long. Also, he has some good insights that I'd not heard before and a wonderful list of nine problem areas to check if your story is "broken", things to fix any problem supposedly. Pretty good stuff.

There is nothing new in this book. It's all about the Hero's Quest--the classic story structure that goes back at least to the Greek myths, and is the quintessential embodiment of a compelling plot.

So if there's nothing new why did I give it 5 stars? Because Snyder brilliantly created a detailed blueprint that allows any writer to take an idea and sculpt it into the bones of a good story that follows the elegant form of the Hero's Quest. He makes a strong case that the bones of the story are the most important part of any work of fiction. Get the plot structure right, and your readers will be hooked by the premise, drawn into the fictional world, thrilled by the action, and deeply satisfied with the ending. This is a must-read for any writer.

Save the Cat!: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder provides a guide to screenwriting from an industry perspective, focusing on what a writer needs to do to prep for the act of writing. These techniques include creating a logline (or one-line), watching and analyzing movies in your chosen genre, creating a beat sheet, and building a board to layout scenes as a form of outlining. Skipping over actually writing process, he then reveals some screenplay "rules" and somethings to look for during edits if the finished draft isn't working.

The Importance of Structure

I've heard a lot of praise for this book, both from screenwriters and from novelists, and a lot of this praise is in regards to Snyder's discussion of structure. As both a novelist and a screenwriter, I found this valuable. Understanding the beat points of a story helps a lot in the actual writing process. The beats* let the writer know where important points of action should fall within the story, such as the catalyst that leads the heroine into adventure. (The Save the Cat! website includes a breakdown of the beats in a variety of popular movies, along with other valuable tools, which is awesome.)

Structure is especially vital to screenwriting, where space (i.e. movie length) is limited. Snyder talks about specific page numbers where certain plot points should fall (midpoint on page 55, for example). In the movie industry, these specific plot points are the kinds of things executives and decision makers are looking for, especially from new writers.

For the novelist, this strict structure seems less relevant, but there's oodles of more leeway. Though it can help create a framework around which to build the giant story that is a novel.

Simple Tools

Another great piece of advice Snyder gives for both kinds of writing is being able to sum up the story in a single sentence or two, called a logline. The logline should state the heroine's objective, highlight obstacles, and have a hook. For example:
Legally Blonde – When a blonde sorority queen is dumped by her boyfriend, she decides to follow him to law school to get him back and, once there, learns she has more legal savvy than she ever imagined. (from IMDB)
The simple summary helps the writer (screenwriter or novelist) get clear on their story before writing, provides an anchor as they work through actually writing, and gives them an easy, simply summary to use if they get the chance to pitch to an agent. Kristen Lamb has a great discussion of this bit of advice on her blog.

The book is full of simple to follow advice like this (if not always easy to execute).

What Drove Me Bananas

Save the Cat! is written in a snappy, conversational tone, which is great because it makes it an easy read. But it also came off sounding pompous, like I could see his smug smile reverberating through the text, and sometimes grated on my nerves. It's clear Snyder had a preference, he wrote and mostly enjoyed family and romantic comedies. So, it's when he talks about the genres he's not into and is less comfortable with that I found myself wanting to rage and beat him over the head with his own book.

Clearly, this was a bias on Snyder's part. He doesn't get these kinds of flicks and seems to not be hot on ind flicks. That's fine, but it annoys the frack out of me that he's including this bias as part of his "rules" and it distracted me from focusing on the valuable tools he was teaching.

I've put the ranty bits on my blog, for those who are interested.

Taking Action

Ultimately, none of these annoyances detract from the core tools and the value of any writing or advice book is whether it inspires the reader to actually take action and get to work. After reading Save the Cat!, I immediately jumped to work. I started creating loglines for all the novel ideas I've been working on and planning and I bought a board to lay out the scenes and acts in a tactile manner (I've been needed a new way to approach my current novel). The book also has me thinking about all the screenplay ideas I have on hold. I've learned oodles of valuable tools and my creative juices are flowing, so this book is a win.½

Review originally posted here: http://emmamaree.com/reviews/save-the-cat/

A clear, well-written guide to presenting your story to other people. It’s aimed at screenwriters, but it’s also a well-known tool for fiction and non-fiction writers. A lot of the information (such as know your genre, have a one line pitch) will be familiar to anyone who’s been following writing blogs or lurking in the query trenches, but if not then it’s a great place to start.

It covers lots of essential information, including genres, character archetypes, and my personal favourite the ‘beat sheet’, which breaks down most plots into a simple structure and can be very helpful for working out pacing problems and structural issues.

Blake can come across as irritating with his every-other-page self-promotion. I loved when he pulled out popular movies for examples of genres and styles, but I got sick of him reference his own ever-so-successful films and TV ideas. I’d never heard of any of them. This would have been fine in a smaller dose, but there was just too much of it.

I think I’ll dip into this book occasionally when I need a refresher on cliches, tropes, and plot structures – but it’s a difficult book to read from start to finish without Snyder’s comments getting on your nerves.

I loved this book. I've always thought I was a pantser, but this book has helped me create a clever way to plot. Excellent!