Save the Cat : The Last Book on Screenwriting That You'll Ever Need

Save the Cat is a classic screenwriting instructional by famed American screenwriter and Hollywood consultant Blake Snyder. Part of a trilogy of essential reference titles for the budding writers shelf, the methodology represents the highest standard of the scriptwriting process.

First published in 2005, the book delves deep into the art of scriptwriting. Combining years of experience with originality and humour to create a readable, laugh-along narrative, Snyder uses popular movie comparisons to describe the tropes, cliché and technical themes of story.

The title derives from what Snyder posits is a basic scene in a blockbuster movie: the part where the protagonist becomes likable. The audience will warm to the character if they see him do something nice, like rescue a cat for example, and they will be prepared to root for him.

When that Save the Cat scene is absent from a script, viewers may struggle to care about the character, never mind follow his story arc. Modern movies missing the scene miss the mark and the audience misses the point. Box office numbers definitely suffer as a result.

To Snyder, screenwriting is as much a science as an art. There are ‘immutable laws of screenplay physics’ that a great script has. He refuted criticism of likeable characters as an exercise in kissing up to the audience. When viewers wants the protagonist to win, they follow him.

Using Tarantino’s classic motion picture Pulp Fiction as an example, Snyder examines why we root for Jackson and Travolta, the so-called ‘heroes’. The reason? They are funny, naïve, and they seem askew in the gangster world they inhabit. We want to see them succeed.    

Save the Cat is an incredibly useful tool. From thematic presence and the fourth wall to running gags and residuals, the glossary provides straightforward definitions of Hollywood studio jargon, helping new writers to translate the industry specific patois quickly and move on.

One 'immutable law, 'The Covenant of the Arc', declares every character must change in the course of the movie. The story must be worth telling, so everyone, even the audience, must change, learn from the experience, and grow somehow. Everyone but the bad guy that is!

Whether you dabble in your spare time, are ready to take Hollywood by storm with your latest cinematic masterpiece or maybe sitting on an unfinished manuscript, this hugely influential work is guaranteed to contain pearls of Hollywood wisdom to push your plot forward.

As Blake Snyder said, “The worst thing that can happen in screenwriting is to not finish. Half written screenplays never sell!”

Time to dust off the typewriter.