By Forris Day Jr.
One of the biggest problems, we as writers have, when creating a screenplay, especially a feature length, is keeping track of everything. Think about it; there are usually multiple characters, locations and we have to follow each characters arc as the story progresses. Difficult to say the least. Well I for one have never gone to college for writing. OK, I admit I’ve never gone to college at all, but I’m no dummy. All this stuff can get a little overwhelming. I have a story in my head, but have no idea how to organize it and make it interesting to you, the movie goer. Help me Underdog! Help me!!
What? No Underdog to the rescue? Ohh, instead “Save the Cat Strikes Back” to the rescue! What is “Save the Cat Strikes Back”? Only one of the coolest books in the screenwriting genera! It describes, in great detail, a way to take an idea and turn it into a sellable script. The author, the late Blake Snyder, has left a wonderful legacy to all who want to write a movie script, in his “Save the Cat” series of books, all available on line at The Writers Store. It is a system of organization and it goes against conventional thinking. Snyder has you start with a logline before you even start writing your story. The logline is the sentence or two that tells what the movie is about. A good logline makes you want to go see the movie. Example:
Shawshank Redemption – Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency.
You see what I mean? The great thing is the book shows you step by step how to write a great logline that is informative, interesting and leaving the audience wanting to know more. Once you have a logline all you need next is a title for your screenplay and of course a genera. That’s it! Think of the logline as the seed for your movie. With it, Snyder teaches you how to grow it into a full blown script using your logline, title and genera as a starter. He has what is called his “15 beats sheet”. These are basically the 15 beats of just about any well told story. It’s all explained in the book and it is EASY. You, the writer fill in the info on your index cards for each beat. A beat is a changing point where something happens in the movie, for example, the moment the main character has a change of heart. Once you have your 15 beats written down you can move on to other details, such as creating scenes. Blake recommends about 40, but you can of course add more if you like . You can pin your cards on a cork-board, or lay them out on a table so you can visually see where your story is going before you ever lay hands on the computer keyboard. Rearrange the scenes if you feel like it, to see how the story changes. All from just a logline and title! He also teaches a bit on character development so by the time you have all your cards laid out you are ready to get down to writing!
Pretty cool right? Well it gets cooler! If you are not the type to handwrite on index cards to outline your story may I suggest “Save the Cat Software”. Yup…it is the software companion to the book. Instead of using a cork-board and index cards, you use a virtual cork-board and virtual index cards. It is a godsend to all us unorganized types. It has all the info and directions in it’s help menu, so you don’t really need the paperback, but I recommend reading the book just to get a good grasp on how Snyders system works. It’s really nice because now you can cary your virtual cork-board wherever you go to write whether it be in the bathroom, at Starbucks or in the bathroom at Starbucks. It’s all in your computer!
Ok, you now have your story outlined and your scenes somewhat figured out. What next? Save the Cat Software is NOT a word processor designed for formatting scripts, per se. Sure you can write a basic scene in it with some very basic formatting but now it is time to fill in the details and glue your story together. EASY! Well…kind of easy. You can export out into Final Draft 8. But I use (Celtix, Storyist, Final Draft 6 or 7) you say, so what do I do? Answer: You export into Final Draft 8. Easy if you have Final Draft 8. I do not, but it really is no big deal, because at this point it is only a formality. The software has built your outline and now you just write in you screenwriting software as usual, except NOW most of the development work is done! This software is always being updated so I would have to think exporting to other screenwriting software is going to happen.
There are a ton of tutorials at Blake Snyders website. You can download a users manual if you’d like to learn more before you buy. The software is compatible with Windows, Mac, iPhone and iPad, so all bases are covered. You can work in the cloud. In other words write on your iPad, get home and continue where you left off on your iMac, PC or other device.
As a writer who is somewhat (Do I hear a “VERY” brothers and sisters?!!) unorganized, I really enjoy using “Save the Cat Software”. The three books in the series are quick reads, and incredibly informative. Even someone who only has the slightest idea for a story can take it, and turn it into a short screenplay or feature length using the simple steps described in the “Save the Cat” series of books and Save the Cat software.
A wonderful tool to help you write.
Buy “Save the Cat” Software here