Hey all, Sam here.
I can’t believe that this book is nearing its end. After today’s post, next week will cover the final chapter. But hey, don’t worry. I’ve found this book to be quite informative, and there’s also apparently a YA Novel one that just came out in May, so I’m definitely going to need to pick it up.
It’ll likely be next year when I cover it, because I have a couple other books in the plans for the Weekend Writers for the rest of this year, but we’ll see what happens.
I also can’t believe that we’re a week away from the start of the July session of Camp NaNoWriMo. I definitely need to figure out what I’m doing with that one, whether I’m working on the Valkyrie/Banshee story or the Vampire cozy fantasy. Time is running out to make final pre-Camp plotting and detailing.
Anyway, welcome back to Weekend Writer, the series on this blog where I give out monthly creativity prompts, do deep dives into books and lectures on creative writing, and share writing snippets. I really enjoy this blog series. It is the one I put the most time and effort into, and that fills me with the most pride when I look back over all of the posts I’ve put out into the world. I just hope that writers and other creators who need the inspiration boost find these posts to be useful.
All right. Let’s get started.
SAVE THE CAT!® by Blake Snyder is a popular screenwriting book series and storytelling methodology used by screenwriters, directors, and studio execs across Hollywood. Now, for the first time ever, bestselling author and writing teacher, Jessica Brody, takes the beloved Save the Cat! plotting principals and applies them to the craft of novel writing in this exciting new “workshop style” guide, featuring over 20 full beat sheets from popular novels throughout time.
Whether you’re writing your first novel or your seventeenth, Save the Cat! breaks down plot in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step method so you can write stories that resonate! This book can help you with any of the following:
Outlining a new novel
Revising an existing novel
Breaking out of the dreaded “writer’s block”
Fixing a “broken” novel
Reviewing a completed novel
Fleshing out/test driving a new idea to see if it “has legs”
Implementing feedback from agents and/or editors
Helping give constructive feedback to other writersBut above all else, SAVE THE CAT! WRITES A NOVEL will help you better understand the fundamentals and mechanics of plot, character transformation, and what makes a story work!
Chapter Thirteen: Monster in the House – More Than Just a Scary Story
Here it is: the last chapter to open with a book content spoiler block, listing the books that just might be spoiled within the chapter. I thought this was a really nice inclusion for this book. It gave you an idea of what to expect in the chapter, but it also warned you that if you haven’t read those books (and want to), maybe it’s best to skip over this, unless you don’t mind the sometimes minor, sometimes major spoilery details.
This chapter is where you’ll find your favorite horror, slasher, and haunting novels, as well as some thrillers, because the Monster in the House story genre covers the idea that nothing is scarier than being trapped somewhere with a monster that wants to kill you, with the awareness or realization that it all just might be their own fault.
As with each of the other story genres we’ve discussed over the past weeks, Brody gives us three essential ingredients to a successful Monster in the House story: 1) a monster, 2) a house, and 3) a sin.
First, the monster, which can be any number of shapes or sizes, or be as human as we are, or be as wild and supernatural as your imagination can conjure. By supernatural here, Brody doesn’t not mean magically supernatural, necessarily. Instead it is a reminder that the monster acts and functions outside of the realm of natural human behavior. They don’t act like normal human beings.
All monsters, by definition, are supernatural. They’re driven by a motivation that goes against the laws of nature. Which is why, in so many of these types of novels, the characters (and the reader!) often don’t just fear for their lives. They fear for their souls.
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Death is nothing, but the idea that there is something worse than death that could happen to us…well, that is where the real fear comes in. This makes me think of zombie stories, because the idea of death by zombie bite and then becoming a mindless zombie after that…that is scary.
The second essential for this Monster in the House story is some kind of confined space, and that is where the monster exists. While it is called a house, it doesn’t have to be an actual house. It could be a town or a desert or a creepy lab at the bottom of the ocean or whatever else works for your story. The point is that it needs to be isolated and the heroes are trapped. If they can just hop in a car and escape or make a phone call and bring in help, then it doesn’t really feel like there is a threat by the monster.
After all, what is scarier than a monster except not being able to escape from that monster.
The third and final essential element for this type of story is a sin, because the prey being stalked by the monster is not entirely innocent. Someone made that monster or invaded its territory or woke it up. This could be the hero, it could be a counterpart of the hero, it could be all of humanity…the point is that the catastrophe is actually somehow our fault.
The sin is what really makes this genre work. It’s what makes these stories resonate with readers. Because the sin almost always ties into the deeper theme, that universal lesson that we can all relate to. This sin is essentially a warning label to the rest of us.
Beware! This could happen to you, if you don’t learn from these mistakes!
Page 249
Brody notes that the sin is also important because it usually holds a clue to destroying the monster itself. But the most important part of the sin is that underlying question of who is the true monster here? Is it the monster of the story or is it us? After all, there is a reason why the monster is doing what it’s doing.
According to Brody, the sin is also what distinguishes a Monster in the House story from a Dude with a Problem story. If the fault is ours or the hero’s, then it is a Monster in the House, and if it is an outside force then it is Dude with a Problem.
Page 251 has a list of popular Monster in the House novels, and then Pages 251-260 have a beat by beat breakdown of one of these novels. If you want to read the specific details, then you’ll need to get this book for yourself.
Chapter Fourteen: Pitch It To Me! – How to Write Killer Loglines and Dazzling Synopses
Okay, we have left the story genres behind, and now we’re moving on to marketing. Regardless of what stage of the writing process you’re in, whether that is outlining, writing, revising, trying to come up with a title…no matter the stage, Brody says that it is a guarantee that somebody is going to ask you “What is your story about?”
And that’s where this chapter comes into play. Whether your goal is to traditionally publish, self-publish, or just post on Wattpad or something to see what happens, you’ll need to be able to pitch your story.
First up, the pitch. When you think about the summary on the back cover or a book or on the online sales page, that summary is the book’s written pitch. If you are at a convention or something and you see an author in person, they’ll probably give you a verbal pitch.
Now, obviously, the pitch doesn’t give the whole story away, because then what would be the point of reading it? Instead the pitch is there to hook the readers, to get them to want to pick up the book and go on this journey. Basically the pitch is your bait to attract readers.
Here is where Brody says that the Save the Cat! fifteen beats can be very helpful with coming up with your pitches.
The reason most authors struggle with pitching their novel is that it’s not typically in our nature to take a step back and try to see our novels from a high-level, more sales-oriented point of view. However, I’m happy to report that the process I’ve been guiding you through in this book is, by its very nature, designed to force you to think about your story from this macro level.
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So Brody has set up this chapter to help with two different types of pitches: the logline and the short synopsis.
By definition a logline is a one-sentence description of your story. Yep, just one. On page 266, Brody gives a couple different examples of logline pitches for a couple popular novels. But don’t worry, no spoilers here. That’s why there wasn’t a spoiler block at the chapter opening.
These loglines follow a similar structure, and I’m going to share the Save the Cat! Logline Template here now:
On the verge of a stasis = death moment, a flawed hero breaks into 2; but when the midpoint happens, they must learn the theme stated before the all is lost.
Page 267
If you pay attention to the bolded elements, these are all parts of the story beats we went through in Chapter Two and Chapter Two (part two). Yes, I had to split the chapter into two parts. It was a lot of information. But, if you’ve gone through those beats then Brody says that writing your logline will be easy. Obviously some of the wording will need adjusted so it doesn’t sound clumsy or awkward, but at least you get the basic idea.
On page 268, Brody gives us a few more examples of loglines, which I honestly find to be really useful and helpful. Basically a logline tells us who the story is about, why they need this journey, where the story is going, why the story is universal, and what the major stakes are. But, you have to be careful not to hide too much information because that can make it very vague, which makes it not very compelling.
There is a delicate balance between giving the information needed to hook the reader, and hiding details to avoid spoilers.
Next up, the short synopsis. This is often referred to as the jacket flap or the back cover copy, or sometimes just a book summary or book description. This is typically a two to three paragraph summary of the novel designed to entice readers into picking up the book and reading it. And bonus…there are so many examples out there to study. Just go to your bookshelves and pick up books. Or go to the library and pick up some books and read the dust jacket flap or the back cover. Or you can even just go onto a bookstore website and start looking up books and reading the description section.
Pages 270-271 includes a few examples of short synopses, and Brody has even included bracketed interruptions to show off which of the Save the Cat! story beats that are utilized in this short synopsis pitch.
Here is the Save the Cat! Short Synopsis Template:
Paragraph 1: Setup, flawed hero, and Catalyst (2-4 sentences)
Paragraph 2: Break Into 2 and/or Fun and Games (2-4 sentences)
Paragraph 3: Theme Stated, Midpoint hint and/or All Is Lost hint, ending in a cliffhanger (1-3 sentences)
Page 272
Brody says there’s a little more wiggle room with the synopsis than there is with the logline. The synopsis gives a chance to mix things up and add a little flair and style. It is also pointed out by Brody that the short synopsis should be no longer than one page double-spaced.
If you can’t effectively pitch your novel in one page, then you haven’t quite figured out what you’re trying to say about it yet. All great novels can be effectively pitched in one page.
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You can use this short synopsis to test if you’ve nailed the beats of your story, and to see if it truly resonates. This is where you might want to double check with the beat checklists from Chapter Two, so you can make sure you’ve hit your beats. Is your Catalyst big enough to pull your hero from their Act 1 world? Does your Midpoint or your All is Lost actually have big enough stakes and heavy enough weight?
Use the tools you’ve been given in this chapter, and in this whole book, and you’ll be able to hook your readers.
Okay, well that is all from me for today. Don’t forget, next week is the June Writing Prompt share (and Chapter Fifteen of Save the Cat! Writes a Novel). Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.
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