Screenwriting : Save the cat by blake snyder! by Divij Kak

Different methodologies work for different people—to each their own. :)

I love Save the cat. Here is my board for my current project... I've since labeled it and created a digital version in Numbers. If interested I'd love to share it.

That's what Blake says, but what do you say?

http://hollywoodscriptwriting.com/uncategorized/screenwriting-tip-day-sp...

THERE ARE NO RULES! You’re trying to apply some “rule” to the process. Obviously a script based on 39 cards must be inferior – eh? If 40 cards is good - why isn’t 41 cards better? You’re missing the point. A compelling story will naturally have an ebb and flow; it will find its own rhythm and sequence and it WILL suffer if you try to force it. I’ve tried cards on corkboards, I’ve used whiteboards, I’ve plastered my studio windows with post-it notes, I’ve hung cards on string lines strung in the studio and I’ve used the card system in Final Draft. They all work to some degree and there are times that that concept doesn’t work so well. The point is to find what works for you.

I use the beat sheet as a guide but only if it fits my story. I never use cards because I think of the scenes as I go.

I know I've said this before, but there very well are a whole bunch of concrete rules that a writer must utilize in writing a story. There better be a premise. There better be a set-up and a pay-off. There better be someone/someones trying to gain something. There better be some ways to prevent that gain from going so smoothly. There better be some twists. There better be a climax. There better be rising action. There better be a plot. There better be pacing. There better be effective dialogues. There better be main characters who aren't one-dimensional, who are active, and who have dramatic needs. There better be scenes, sequences and plot points. There better be conflict and tension. There better be struggle/struggles. There better be some universal feelings that we can relate to, no matter how foreign or cerebral the subject matter of the story may utilize as the vehicle that moves the story along. Those are rules that I'm sure we can all agree on. And I"m not even mentioning a B-story, reversals, archetypes, transformations, catharses, subtextual dialogues, or epiphanies or other dramatic elements and devices that are pretty essential to brilliant drama.

Bill – you and I must agree to disagree on this matter (maybe we have a semantics issue.) I contend that there are no rules in screenwriting although there are many deeply entrenched customs and traditions that I advise new writers to know, understand and follow if they seek success. Every story has a natural ebb and flow; a certain rhythm – some good, some not so much. I agree that there must be a premise, a plot, a beginning, middle, end and interesting characters, intertwined A and B story and so much more. To me – I see these as laws of story nature. Not man’s imposed rules. If you drive too fast around a corner and break nature’s law of the coefficient of friction, you and your car wind up in a ditch. If you drive too fast and get caught, then you’ve broken a driving rule – and you’ll pay a fine.

I agree with Doug. There is no set formula. Compelling story & characters is key.

There is no right or wrong answer here. I have written screenplays using the Save the Cat beat sheet as a guide an I have written screenplays without using any formula whatsoever. The results have been about 50/50 so I really don't think it makes any difference as long as the script turns out good when I finish writing it.