Awesome friends of mine suggested I read Blake Snyder's 'Save The Cat!' a year or so ago and I've been singing its praises ever since. The late, great Blake Snyder spells out, in easy to remember catchy phrases, the beats of a well structured movie. So why am I worried about movie nonsense when I'm writing a book?
Find me an author who doesn't want to see their book adapted for the silver screen. Anyway, my original idea, which came to me while I was lying in bed at 3 in the morning, played out like a movie in my head. I was keen to see if it would work.
And let's not be snobbish. It's all about good storytelling.
The 'beats' which Blake claims are essential to a well structured movie are as follows: Opening Image, Theme Stated, Set-up, Catalyst, Debate, Break into Two, B Story, Fun & Games, Midpoint, Bad Guys Close In, All Is Lost, Dark Night of the Soul, Break into Three, Finale and Final Image.
Writing up my 'scenes' and the beats and character arcs on cards I laid them out on my lounge room floor, and voila! IT FITS!
Very, very excited.
Here's a link http://www.blakesnyder.com/
Recommend grabbing a copy of Save The Cat! and giving it a go. It will blow you away. My copy is dog-eared and grotty. It's absolutely packed with great advice for writers.
No comments:
Post a Comment