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

Blake Snyder's influential screenwriting guide distills decades of Hollywood experience into a practical framework for crafting compelling stories. The book introduces the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet (BS2), a 15-beat structure that helps writers manage story pacing and character transformation. Beyond structure, it covers essential tools for developing loglines, identifying story genres, and visualizing your screenplay before writing.

8 sections ยท 39 lessons

Course outline

Concept Mastery

  1. The Power of the Logline
  2. Irony in Loglines
  3. Mental Picture and Market
  4. The Primal Connection
  5. Same But Different
  6. Concept Mastery

Story Genres

  1. Beyond Traditional Genres
  2. Monster in the House
  3. Golden Fleece
  4. Out of the Bottle
  5. Dude and Superhero
  6. Life Transitions
  7. Groups and Belonging
  8. Partnerships and Truth
  9. The Underdog Wins
  10. Story Genres

Act One Beats

  1. Opening Image
  2. Theme Stated
  3. Set-Up
  4. Catalyst
  5. Debate
  6. Break Into Two
  7. Act One Beats

Act Two Beats

  1. B Story Introduction
  2. Fun and Games
  3. Midpoint
  4. Bad Guys Close In
  5. Act Two Beats

Act Three Beats

  1. All Is Lost
  2. Dark Night of the Soul
  3. Break Into Three
  4. Finale
  5. Final Image
  6. Act Three Beats

Character Craft

  1. Choosing Your Hero
  2. Covenant of the Arc
  3. Save the Cat Moment
  4. Character Craft

Screenplay Laws

  1. Pope in the Pool
  2. Laying Pipe
  3. Double Mumbo Jumbo
  4. Glacier and Marzipan
  5. Screenplay Laws

Planning Tools

  1. The Board Method
  2. Index Card Details
  3. Scene as Mini-Movie
  4. Planning Tools

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