Desmond’s Drops: Blake Snyder’s SAVE THE CAT Genre Tenets
By Desmond Hall | January 17, 2024 |
Welcome to a new edition of Desmond’s Drops!
This month, enjoy three drops focused on one topic–Blake Snyder’s SAVE THE CAT film genres and the three tenets associated with each of them, beginning with:
Though Blake came to these genres and tenets through a study of film, they’ve helped countless novelists to create more well-rounded stories–including Desmond himself. Blake’s story genres and what he’s identified as unique variables for each of them can help a storyteller realize essential missing pieces. (We can’t recommend Blake’s book, Save the Cat, highly enough.)
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Look for more of Desmond’s Drops in March!
Have your own bit of wisdom to share? Drop it in comments.
Desmond Hall, author of YOUR CORNER DARK, was born in Jamaica, West Indies and then moved to Jamaica, Queens. His second novel, BETTER MUST COME, a fiercely evocative, action-packed YA thriller that examines that darker side of light-filled Jamaica, released in May, 2024. He’s worked as both a high school biology teacher and English teacher, counseled at-risk teens, and served as Spike Lee’s creative director at SpikeDDB. He’s also written and directed the HBO movie, A DAY IN BLACK AND WHITE, which was nominated for the Gordon Parks Award. He’s written and directed the theater play, STOCKHOLM, BROOKLYN, which won the audience award at the Downtown Theater Festival at the Cherry Lane Theater. He’s also served on the board of the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, and was a judge for the Addys, and the Downtown Urban Arts Film Festival. Named one of Variety Magazine’s 50 creatives to watch.
Thanks or the drops, Desmond. “Tools, not rules” counts as one also (Buy 3, get 1 free!)
LOL!
Always helpful, Desmond
Thanks, Elizabeth!
Always helpful, thanks Desmond
After listing to your drop, my current wip (appropriately titled Venture) is definitely a Golden Fleece Story. Now to read the book I coincidentally just received, Save the Cat Writes a Novel. Thank you for the drop!
Desmond, I’m glad you’re focusing on Blake Snyder’s work. I am amazed at how much It echoes ideas from Joseph Campbell’s “Hero With a Thousand Faces,” about patterns in human mythology. Snyder used movie plots and themes to analyze story-telling, which is fine, because our generation is all about video. I strongly recommend that any writer read “Save the Cat.” Never mind the title.
I have a copy of “Save the Cat Writes a Novel” on my reference shelf. Snyder is gone, alas, but Jessica Brody has recast his screenwriting ideas using famous novels to make Snyder’s points about story structure. If you like thinking about writing, this book is like ice cream and candy.
Also, people who are intrigued by Desmond’s drops on the subject might want to do a WU search for Therese Walsh’s three-part interview with Snyder back in 2008. He wasn’t only smart, he was a nice guy.