Blake Snyder's Save the Cat: What I Wish I Knew Before I Started My Beat Sheet

Today we're looking at Blake Snyder's screenwriting book: Save the Cat. I'll be sharing with you, what I wish I knew before I started my beat sheet.
Blake Synder's Save The Cat is a book that I consider life-changing. That could be because I'm passionate about screenwriting, I'm assuming you are too as you chose to watch this video on the topic. I have formed my beats and I also presented them to a screenwriting consultant who gave me feedback on the work I presented her.
Naomi Beaty is a script consultant, a screenwriting teacher, and has worked on projects like Twilight. She has also given me feedback on my logline, which you can check out in this video: • I Asked A Screenwritin...
Here are the Do's and Dont's I've picked up regarding loglines, which you may also enjoy: • 5 Qualities of Great L...
Save The Cat references some outstanding screenplays, and breaks down the beats of these films and why they are so great.
Random note: Only after I uploaded the video did I pick up the typo of one of the beats in the screenwriting book: Catalyst.
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I found the screenwriting tips in Save The Cat, to be some of the most valuable bits of inisght to screenwriters who are writing their first movie script, or to those who are attempting to write again after a long hiatus.
One of the things I wish I knew before writing my beat sheet, was that to state the theme, it helps to know your main character. Now, I was very much in the developmental phase when I wrote my beat sheet- and I struggled with this beat because I didn’t feel as if I really knew my character fully. I felt that she transformed with each new version of the beat sheet- and I think it would have been helpful to have her figured out fully before I started any of the development. Maybe this isn’t the case for everyone, but I think it’s much easier to write a story around someone than create a world and force someone to exist in it. Kind of a square peg and round hole thing.
Then, I’d love to hear from you, how many times do you rework your beat sheet before you get it to a place where you’re confident to start writing? And what movie scripts have stood out to you that you think I should read.
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[@naomibeaty--]

YESSSSS! I always remind writers that you don't have to figure out the beats or major plot points in chronological order! In fact, sometimes it's helpful to jump around, because the beats relate to each other in different ways so you can use what you know about one to "do the math" and figure out others, knowing how their relationships are supposed to work. Great job, Marguerite!

[@MargueriteFaure]

Ahhhhhh! So great to hear from you 🙂 Can't wait for you to see the vid I made about our consultation. I wanted to post it today but I'm having uploading issues so looks like it'll only be out next week. I had to hold myself back to keep it to "reasonable watch time" haha. The first draft of the video was 45 minutes... But I've managed to cut it down to 11 mins 🙂 So many nuggets of gold! Anyway, wishing you a super-duper weekend 🤗

[@user-zd1jh5zz9n]

Oh Gosh! You showed a micro second of the film- The Ricardo's. They looked good.

[@NashvilleTravelConcierge]

I'm a Save the Cat fan also. Great info.

[@MargueriteFaure]

Thanks :) Yeah, the book is super helpful!

[@Mistyism]

Love from India❤️

[@boskilabow778]

Gotcha agree with how great STC is! I've read quite a few books on screenwriting, the usual suspects, but Blake's book was a light bulb moment read. Proper structure all made sense with his breakdown. I've heard all the backchat about it being formulaic and all that but as far as I'm concerned a building requires a sturdy foundation and the beat sheet is just that. Great video by the way before I waffle on and forget!!

[@MargueriteFaure]

Ah, thanks so much :) The breakdown is so helpful, especially if you are still finding your feet- which seems to always be the case whenever I start a new screenplay haha :)

[@jordanhenshaw]

Coulda just skipped to 1:12 and started the video there.

[@mikel4510]

Is a beat just 'something that happens" whether it is a view, action, thought, etc.?

[@vicjames3256]

Save the Cat is hack. It's decent if you're coming from zero knowledge of creative writing and format. But please use any other screenwriting book to craft a story that people actually care about, and not some schlock that's a slave to the 90s and early aughts film industry formula. If you want to create a formulaic Hallmark Christmas film, it's pretty solid. But if you care about tapping into your own unique perspective to tell a compelling story, this ain't it.