Software to Help Plot and Organize Your Story Turn your idea into a novel with Save the Cat! writing prompts at your fingertips. Save the Cat! Story Structure Software 5.0 is your Digital Writer’s Board that unlocks the fundamentals of your story—from logline to beat...
NOVEL WRITING Beat Sheets, Novel Writing, Whydunit The Thursday Murder Club Novel Beat Sheet Analysis See how The Thursday Murder Club—optioned by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment—hits the 15 Save the Cat! story beats. Marilyn Brant, August 31, 2023 0 11 min read Beat Sheets,...
The first novel-writing guide from the best-selling Save the Cat! story-structure series, which reveals the 15 essential plot points needed to make any novel a success.
Originally created for screenwriters, the Save the Cat! story-structure method provides compelling tips and tricks to make your novel as riveting as a movie—because whether you’re writing a fantasy series, a romance, or the next Great American Novel, every captivating story throughout time (from Jane Austen to Agatha Christie) has the same 15 essential plot points, or “beats.”
In this revolutionary novel-writing guide from the best-selling Save the Cat! series, novelist Jessica Brody demystifies each beat, making it simple to craft your own best seller with easy-to-follow templates. It also reveals the 10 universal story genres to help you drill down into what makes your type of story work.
Featuring sample “beat sheets” for hits from the likes of J. K. Rowling, Khaled Hosseini, and Stephen King, this practical guide also includes real-world advice on pitching your novel, plus the quirky, original insights (like the eponymous tip to “Save the Cat”) that make this series unique. By the end of this book, your own imaginative beats will combine to create a story that thrills readers from start to finish.
This indispensable guide reveals the 15 essential plot points needed to make any young adult novel a success, from an accomplished novelist and the author of Save the Cat! Writes a Novel.
In Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel, prolific author and story coach Jessica Brody presents a comprehensive story structure guide for anyone who wants to write a young adult novel by applying the famed Save the Cat! screenwriting methodology to the world of YA fiction.
In this book, you will learn:
• The 15 “beats” (or plot points) that are necessary for crafting a successful story with a compelling character arc—including the Opening Image, Catalyst, Fun and Games, Bad Guys Close In, Dark Night of the Soul, and Finale
• The 10 universal story genres that will help you drill into what makes your type of story work, including those most commonly found in young adult novels like Rites of Passage, Superhero, Buddy Love, Institutionalized, and Golden Fleece
• Quirky, original insights and writing tips like “Save the Cat,” the “Shard of Glass,” and the “Dark Night Epiphany,” that help you craft a story that will thrill and captivate teen readers
Filled with practical advice, easy-to-follow templates, and “beat sheets” analyzing the structure of popular young adult novels such as Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows, John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, and Lois Lowry’s The Giver, this book is the ultimate reference for anyone who’s ever dreamed of writing their own young adult bestseller.
Learn how the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet can be applied successfully to fiction. The legion of novel writers who use the Beat Sheet includes Alyson Noël, Nina Bruhns, Kristan Higgins, Marilyn Brandt, Kieran Kramer… and Jessica Brody, who has sold 8 novels (4 optioned for…
Our special thanks to novelist Jessica Brody, author of The Karma Club, for today’s inspiring blog and beat sheet: When a friend first introduced me to Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder, as an aspiring screenwriter recently turned aspiring novelist, I turned up my nose…
