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The Save the Cat! Method of formatting a story was developed by Blake Snyder. He wrote a book titled Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need in 2005. In 2018, Jessica Brody took the screenwriting lessons taught in the book and adapted them for the novel in her book Save the Cat! Writes a Novel. I’ll be using much of her work for this article to overview the method and present it so you might decide whether or not to go out and buy her book to delve into the process a little deeper.
The name of the method comes from a Snyder tip about how to get an audience to love even the most obnoxious of heroes. “Early in the story, have them save a cat.”
Just as I did with the Hero’s Journey, I’d like to present the numerous steps of Save the Cat! in list format and then focus on each step and provide a quick explanation. As Jessica Brody wrote a fantastic book digging into each one of these steps, I’d like to refer you all towards that if you want to know more.
- Act 1
- Setup
- Opening Image
- Theme Stated
- Debate
- Catalyst
- Setup
- Act 2
- Break into
- Fun and Games
- B Story
- Midpoint
- Bad Guys Close in
- All is Lost
- Dark Night of the Soul
- Act 3 – Finale
- Break into 3
- Final Image
Here is an image to shows the multi-layered approach of how this method works. As you’ll see, some sections are found within other sections.
While this set up looks different than the Hero’s Journey, you’ll find many of the same beats and ideas recycled within. If that was on purpose, I can’t say. Sadly, Blake Snyder passed away. Still, it is telling that two people from different lines of work and study found a way to explain the formation of stories in drastically different ways while reflecting parallel concepts.
As we go over each step, there will be a percentage listed as well. This is roughly where in your story this step is addressed. Another picture is provided below after the explanations.
Setup – 1% to 10%
This is once again, part of establishing the Ordinary World. We’ve got a sense of the infrastructure of the work and have established what kind of story this will be with the Opening Image. Now we are going to learn more about our heroes and worlds with expanded, telling details. Immerse your reader into the world and begin hinting at the conflicts pre-existing your overall adventure. This will entail everything leading up to the Call to Adventure.
Opening Image –1%
This is your “Before” snapshot that will be used by the reader to compare the before world and heroes against the after at the end of the book. Here you will establish the Ordinary World. As you can see from the percentage, you’re not going to take a long time doing this. Use a lot of quick, telling details. This is were you establish your hook, style, pace, etc. You are laying all the foundations to set reader expectations.
Theme Stated – 5% (within the first 10%)
At some point during the beginning of the book, you are going to find a way to slyly state the theme of your book. Someone will ask a seemingly innocuous question or make an observation. This is foreshadowing the internal change and external challenges your character is going to face. This is a statement of the symbolic nature of what the whole story is about and will be reflected at the end of your story to highlight said change. It may be repeated or alluded to throughout the book, as well, but your hero will likely ignore it until something finally clicks closer to the end. Don’t bash your reader on the head with it like a morality lesson. Just remain aware of the theme as you write the story. It’s the why of the plot.
Catalyst – 10%
Here is your Call to Adventure. This is the pivotal moment that everything is about the change for your hero. Something will happen that will push against your hero’s status quo.
Debate – 10% to 20%
Just as the title suggests, the hero is going to debate, cajole, and negotiate their way out of the incoming change. They are going to Refuse the Call. Still no debate is one sided. Someone or thing is going to force the issue or convince the hero to step forward. The final decision to embark on a journey or accept a monumental change will be supported by Meeting the Mentor or Supernatural Aid.
Break into 2 – 20%
The hero has accepted the Call or change and enters into the Special World by Crossing the Threshold. They will enter a new, alien situation and promptly make mistakes by ignoring the earlier stated theme and go about fixing all the perceived problems the wrong way. This is the first turning point in the story and will set up all that comes next. This can also include the Belly of the Whale, though not always.
Fun and Games – 20%to 50%
This part of the narrative will take up the most of any one section within your book. In terms of the Hero’s Journey, this will include Belly of the Whale (if not present in Break into 2) and Road of Trials.
Here your heroes will battle and survive (though not necessarily overcome) all obstacles. This is where you deliver on the overall premise of the plot. If you are writing a romance, this is where the characters fall in and out of love or love triangles form. If the story is an adventure, then this is where they encounter various enemies and potential allies as they quest toward the villain’s lair.
As the subtitle suggests, have fun and play games with your story.
B Story – 22%
This term comes from the film and television industry. Often in movies and television shows, there is the main story which is what takes up most of the narrative. However, if you watch closely, there is always a secondary story layered throughout that either reflects the main story in a more intimate way or explores the deeper morality of conflict presented within the main storyline.
In a novel, this usually entails a secondary character who will assist the hero not only in the overall adventure, but will also help the hero learn the lesson presented in Theme Stated. Same as our primary characters, secondary characters need to be fleshed out. They may be support characters, but if you want the reader to care about them, give them lives and a story all their own within the larger one. The B Story helps with that immensely.
While it isn’t the focus of the larger story, it supplements the story, motivations, and showcases the consequences of decisions being made throughout the story. It can also provide a counterpoint to many of the various characters opinions. While the hero is driving the story, they may not always make wise decisions and the B Story can further explore how those decisions affected those around them.
Midpoint – 50%
Pretty self-explanatory, this is the middle of the book. This will often coincide with Meeting with the Goddess. This is a turning point in the story that signals not only the middle of the adventure, but the middle of the main character’s transformation throughout. Often, it can be referred to as the hero’s false victory. They will achieve a turning of the tide, but they won’t have learned the lesson that will spark internal change or have gained the Ultimate Boon. Things may be looking up, but that isn’t going to last long.
Bad Guys Close in – 50% to 70%
Here, the bad guys will fight back. This coincides with Temptation. As we discussed previously, temptation can be represented in several ways. After the false victory, the villains will retaliate and deliver a crushing defeat. The hero may be tempted to surrender. Perhaps they will be tempted away from the side of good. In either case, the bad guys are going to strike back hard and bring our hero’s to the brink.
All is Lost – 75%
This is the hero’s lowest moment in the story. Here begins the Atonement with the Father (Meet the Shadow Self). It’s the end of the temptation phase where our hero is seriously considering walking away or giving in. It leads directly into our next phase.
Dark Night of the Soul – 75% to 80%
Here we have the culmination of both Atonement with the Father and Apotheosis. While Atonement begins in All is Lost, is will be explored and resolved within Dark Night of the Soul. Our hero will face their fears and doubts. In the face of overwhelming odds, they decide to fight on anyway.
Break in 3 – 80%
This sets the stage for our ending. All the trials, lessons, and set backs coalesce to transform our hero into the person they are meant to be. Here, they will receive their Ultimate Boon.
Remember how at the beginning of our story the hero tried to fix things in the wrong way in Break in 2? Now, after all they’ve learned, they will begin the process of fixing the situation in the correct way. With their newfound outlook and boon, they will enter the Finale. The Hero’s Journey Ultimate Boon will carry over into the Finale, which is a very complex and fast-paced part of your story.
Finale – 80% to 99%
Save the Cat! establishes something called the Five-Point Finale. We have Gathering the Team, Executing the Plan, The High Tower Surprise, Dig Deep Down, Execution of the New Plan.
Within this section, some of the Hero’s Journey steps take on a new purpose. For instance, there won’t be a literal Refusal of Return. The refusal is isn’t so much an unwillingness to return home, but to defy the current status quo and Gather the Team to end the conflict one way or another.
Once the team is assembled, they Execute the Plan they’ve agreed to. This is the Magic Flight. They are rushing forward to end the battle and return to the ordinary world where the dangers around them no longer threaten their happiness and health. As with the Magic Flight, something will go wrong and they will be attacked. This High Tower Surprise is the transition point between Magic Flight and Rescue from Without.
The High Tower Surprise is the last ditch effort or counter attack of the main villain or a frustrated underling who won’t admit defeat. In some cases, it’s when the bad guy returns earlier than expected and catches everyone in in the process of their carefully thought out plan, such as a heist movie or the unauthorized investigation of a plucky, renegade junior detective.
Rescue from Without from the Hero’s journey is covered by both Dig Down Deep and Execution of the New Plan. The rescue can of course come from outside in the form of allies who realized the trouble and came to help, but it can come from within the character who turns the tide of battle through will alone. They galvanize those around them, create a new plan, and snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat.
With that final victory, we come to the end of the big finale and our heroes re-enter the Ordinary World by Crossing the Return Threshold.
Final Image – 99% to 100%
All three of the final Hero’s Journey’s steps are wrapped up in the Final Image. The hero will Cross the Return Threshold, they will become Master of Two Worlds, and find the Freedom to Live. This is the end picture of how our hero’s life is going after the adventure is complete and all the lessons they needed to learn are fully realized.
Another aspect of Save the Cat! is that it provides a list of ten genres one can use to help define what they are writing and how the tropes of said genre are applied to the various steps listed above.
- Whydunit
- Rites of Passage
- Institutionalized
- Superhero
- Dude with a Problem
- Fool Triumphant
- Buddy Love
- Out of the Bottle
- Golden Fleece
- Monster in the House
Expect an article about that next month.
While Save the Cat! was developed for screenwriters, there is a great deal to take from it for your stories whether you are writing a movie, television show, novel, or comic book. These beats will help you develop a compelling story that will grip your reader from beginning to end.
Until next month, keep on typing and tell your stories.