I've been adhering to Blake Snyder's 'Save the Cat' beat sheet, and I always seem to get stuck when it comes to the "Fun and Games" section. Does anyone else follow his system and if so, what are some effective ways to get through this? You would think this part of the movie would be the easiest part to do...
Screenwriting : Beat Sheet: Fun and Games by Monica Fowler
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Regardless of someone's views on story, and specifically Blake Snyder's Save the Cat Beat Sheet....here is a link to an article that probably best answers your question:
https://stevenpressfield.com/2015/07/blake-snyders-fun-and-games/
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Thanks, Bill!
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You have set up your first act. Look at the limitations of the character there. Each reaction there is a set barrier for the fun and games. You allow the character to be released, one step more positive with the act break change. So consider what the character could do without the limitations that you provide..
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A.S. : that is such a simpleton statement. "Training Wheels?" Really? Man.
A writer can write a great story using Save the Cat, or any of the other story throughlines that are out there. And they can write a bad story, too. Remember what Bruce Lee said:
"Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own."
If a writer worked on most television shows, they are forced to do certain things minute-by-minute. If they don't, they are fired. "Bye-bye, A.S. , we already packed up your belongings, and sorry we broke your coffee cup. It was cracked anyway." Some screenwriters are forced to do things, too. A lot.
Audiences expect that they are going on a journey that is going to evoke feelings, maybe surprise them at times, and result with a satisfactory ending.
The only film that I have ever seen that didn't do that - at least for me - is....naw...I'm not gonna make a negative comment about a film, because I thoroughly respect the filmmaking process and what filmmakers go through to do that.
Monica: Here is a link to a comparison of different types of defined structures. They are all excellent tools to help structure stories. You can write a great story using any one, or you can write a bad story using any one. It's long, but worth the read. Save the Cat isn't in the comparison. And a short little plug for the guys who wrote it. The Write Brothers are great friends of writers!
http://dramatica.com/resources/assets/Dramatica_paradigms-0707.pdf
And don't feel slighted by the "training wheels" comment. Some people just don't like dem cats!
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Thanks Bill, CJ, and Chris. I appreciate the resources and advice! And Bill, I’m taking the good with the bad, and only the good will change my process - if necessary!
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A.S. ; the thing is, they're not training wheels. They're tools that writers can utilize forever. We've been around this issue before. More power to you, A.S.
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I’m a bit concerned with your choice of word “adhering,” Monica. If it’s helping you get started, that’s great! But understand Save the Cat is but one interpretation of structure. It is not story structure itself. If you are struggling with one part of this particular paradigm, then perhaps expand and look at other interpretations that dive deeper and offer more insights. If I recall, I haven’t looked at STC in years, his “fun and games” is referring to Act 2, correct? What I find problematic with that descriptive moniker is that it implies characters just do things or things just happen. There’s no sense of cause-and-effect or building action, which may be part of the reason you’re struggling. And adhering to an exact page number is problematic. It is perfectly fine to shift or think more in terms of page-ish. Or break it down into sequences. Break it into 4 acts if that helps. As others have said, as you explore many structure interpretations you will discover your own. So... perhaps shift your perspective, just a bit, and consider that your story is the master of the outline, not the other way around. You don’t follow, you create. An outline is malleable, organic. It’s your map. It serves you. You don’t adhere. ;) Hope that helps!
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First, word of caution: not every script must be a “save the cat” copy. That said, fun and games are the promise of your movie. You shouldn’t need to get through it. They’re supposed to be fun, in the way you promised us. This will change in the middle point, but now it’s time to see the feature as announced. If it is a pirate movie, that’s the time where they will set sails and rob the ships. If it is a race movie, show us some races, motors and cars. War movie? Time to have battles and explosions. Romance? Kisses, love and a good view of those gorgeous, sexy actors that give life to your story. That’s the point you’ll do what your movie is about, what the viewers are already expecting, before you launch us in a different, unexpected direction, in the middle point. That’s the point of the story where you give the fans what they want.
the fun and games section can be where the main characters do something fun for themselves from ball room dancing to a montage of them painting with another character. you might like to make a list of things my character can do or wouldn't be expect to do and put this into your fun and games section.
Check out John Truby's 22 Building Blocks. Or you could switch from Blake Snyder to the 8-Sequence System in scriptoutliner dot com
Fred. Are you aware you are replying to posts that are several years old?