I bought this book based on the recommendation of a member
of one the book writing groups I belong to. It tells how to write movie scripts,
but the friend who told me about it said the same principles could be used to
help make novels better. Since I was about halfway through my latest book, I decided
to hold off on writing until I studied the techniques described in this book.
Snyder, a successful screenwriter who died in 2009,
describes how every good movie script is organized. It is an easy-to-understand
description of 15 beats along with a description of each beat and how many
pages one should have for each beat. Examples are included to make the material
even easier to understand.
I could see right away how to apply the techniques to novel
writing. However, there are two follow-up books, Save the Cat Goes to the Movies and Save the Cat Strikes Back, that I think I better read before
finishing the novel.
Excellent book if you are into screen writing!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Lorilyn. And many novelists are using it, too. There is an algorithm to change page numbers to match any length novel.
ReplyDeleteI need to look at them. I'm always looking for ways to make my writing more systematic.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, Lester. Let me know if I can answer any questions.
ReplyDelete