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Jessica Brody
Jessica Brody is the author of the popular YA fantasy novel Kisses and Curses. If you enjoy magical worlds and swoon-worthy romance, you'll love her work.
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel
- Pages
- 320
- Published
- 2018
Synopsis
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody translates the popular "Save the Cat!" beat sheet — originally developed by Blake Snyder for screenwriters — into a structural framework for novelists.
Brody breaks a story down into 15 beats, from the opening image through the finale, and walks through how each beat functions using examples from well-known novels across ten genres, including "Monster in the House," "Whydunit," and "Dude with a Problem." The book is aimed at both aspiring and experienced novelists looking for a concrete structural checklist to diagnose pacing and plot problems in a manuscript.
Alongside the beat sheet itself, the book offers exercises and genre breakdowns intended to help writers apply the framework to their own work in progress.
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Frequently asked questions
Is this book part of a series?
This book is part of the broader Save the Cat! series, which originated with Blake Snyder's screenwriting guides and expanded into fiction with this title and subsequent entries like Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel.
Does this book provide advice for writing series?
While the book touches on series structure, the author has noted that more detailed guidance on planning series arcs and multi-book hero transformations is expanded upon in later resources and follow-up entries in the series.