Desmond’s Drops: Blake Snyder’s SAVE THE CAT Genres, Part 2
By Desmond Hall | March 20, 2024 |
Welcome to a new edition of Desmond’s Drops!
This month, enjoy three new drops focused on one topic: Blake Snyder’s genres from his classic book, Save the Cat!
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Look for more of Desmond’s Drops in May!
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.
As it happens, I’m knee-deep in “Save the Cat.” (Actually, “Save the Cat Writes a Novel.”) I’m impressed that you’re able to take something that’s already as brief as possible (considering the historical breadth of story-telling) and boil it down even more. “Dude with a problem? For one thing, remember the problem is not his (or her) fault.” I agree with Desmond that writers owe it to themselves to at least familiarize themselves with Blake Snyder’s ideas. And it is fun just to read the books.
Great drops, Desmond. I always find them useful. I’m discovering that I’m already using some of Snyder’s genre-oriented techniques, but not milking them to the fullest. Thanks!
Desmond, I always enjoy these little summaries and tips. Like Michael, I’m familiar with Jessica Brody’s “Save the Cat! Writes a Novel,” and it’s been fun to look back over my epic, multi-POV saga and figure out which genre each main character arc falls into. It’s a whole new way (to me) to look at storytelling.
Just an observation: Rights of Passage should be Rites of Passage. :)