Screenwriting : To Save the Cat or not? by Candra Adams

If it works for you then great, but there's not really a right or wrong answer when it comes to format/structure... personally I write without a specific method, be it Save the Cat or any the many others availabe... I do plan to a degree just not to any prescribed template.

I agree with Anthony on the idea that if it works for you, that is great. I typically have a concept and work from the middle of the story. Once I have a set of main characters I make sure I understand them so that the actions that lead to the middle and then to the end are organic and not forced. Take what works for you and leave the rest. Just like a buffet.

I tend to try to look at all formats as "suggestions". Think about them, try them out, and then slowly formulate your own format based on what works.

Thanks for all the words of wisdom.

I'm not a fan of anything that prevents a writer from developing a story organically. A rigid framework can seriously hamper a writer's progress if they buy into this way of structuring their work. As I have mentioned in a previous post, classic movies as well as awful movies fit STC beat sheets, they prove nothing and have zero value. It's personal taste as others have said. I don't read books, I prefer to be taught and have consultations.

There's a pretty deep problem that reflects the STC and Hero's Journey obsessions in screenwriting, namely that all the movies end up looking & feeling the same , no matter what the details, characters, settings. As a test case I viewed the second Percy Jackson teen fantasy, and OMG I could set my watch as the 1st-2nd-3rd acts, pinches and beats hit their marks precisely on time. As for character development, not every protag need have a deep-seated character flaw stopping them achieving their destiny, nor undergo the "rejection of the call", nor need a mentor to help them through the rough patches. Some good movies may have one or more of these elements, but some really cr@ppy ones slavishly have all three.

The cookie-cutter how-to books and gurus are good as script formatting references, in understanding the need for a framework/armature/spine in any story, and in providing a baseline understanding for story analysis. One might even then write a 3-act, beat-sheet screenplay as an etude—even Picasso mastered classical forms before going off the rails. But a good story can and should be able to exist outside the Hero's Journey cliché.

You know, I was just thinking that I commented on this post, but did not mention that I really liked the John Truby book The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller It has a formula or two, but they are about analyzing your characters and conflict. Really worth the read and might give you another insight.

IMO, consider studying all popular formats, then apply the bits that fit each of your stories. Not everything is 'hero's journey,' for example. And STC is just 'one' beat sheet, after all (vs, say, Truby's 22 steps).