Structure
is the first aspect of building a story. It’s also how we frame coherent thoughts.
This
post speaks of how crucial it is for writers, specifically of memoirs.
Books
like SAVE THE
CAT in all its variations give not only rough, but very detailed story beats.
If
you’ve read the original,
written specifically for screenwriters, you will never see most movies the
same way. You’ll recognize these story beats, or turns, clicking in like
clockwork.
At
least for me, all genre stories begin to read the same.
The
mini surprises lie in the specifics, but never in the rising or receding
action/tension. The cat gets saved with numbing predictability.
Good
story structure is a safety net. But please don’t be a slave to it.
Who
am I saying this to?
The
storyteller, of course. The storyteller in me.
5 comments:
I loved Saved the Cat and also Save the Cat goes to the Movies. Brilliant. Max and I both love to predict what's going to happen in movies and we're usually right. Haha!
Whether it is for a building or a book or a human being, structure is essential.
Some writers like or need at least a loose idea of where you're going, or they get lost and give up. (That would be me, the plotter.) But some others (members of my critique group, for example) run away from anything resembling plotting and pants their way through. They need quite a bit of revision. I don't. I edit as I go along and have a decent first draft.
I like the picture. It reminds me strongly of you. :)
I've read Save the Cat for writing novels, but not the original for writing screen plays. I should read that. I think I will try following the "formula" for the next book that's in my head.
Post a Comment