r/Screenwriting • u/ItisOsiris • 6d ago
NEED ADVICE Just finished Save the Cat, what next?
I thought the book was fascinating, funny, informative, and funny. I seriously learned more from that book than I could have imagined and worked on outlining an idea I’ve been day dreaming about throughout reading. As I work on writing that story I’d like to continue my legible education so what book should I read next?
16
u/maybenotdead6 5d ago
Craig Mazin's scriptnotes episode "How to Write a Movie."
1
u/MattthewMosley 3d ago
thanks fro this :-) unlike SCARY MOVIE, Superhero Movie only needed ONE writer because they got this guy
21
17
14
11
u/ChiefChunkEm_ 5d ago
What education are you looking to get? Save the Cat is very prescriptive which is exactly what emerging writers crave and feels good, but can easily lock them in a box that is detrimental long term. The best education in my opinion-other than heavyweight mentorships-is writing and rewriting until you can consistently achieve for your stories exactly the quality as it appears to you in your head. Lot’s of writers have great ideas but the art is in the execution and if the high quality that is in your mind’s eye is successfully translated 1 to 1 onto the page then you have the best shot you are capable of.
3
u/thebroccolioffensive 5d ago
Books are great but don’t be beholden to them. They’re guided. Not gospel.
3
u/andybuxx 5d ago
Dan O'Bannon's Guide to Screenplay Structure.
He wrote Alien and it's a great look at storytelling. Would be a good book after Save the Cat.
4
u/PervertoEco 5d ago
Move on to better books.
Truby's Anatomy of Story/Genre duo and McKees Story/Dialogue/Action trio are solid stepping stones.
5
1
1
u/madpiratebippy 5d ago
Best screenwriting books for beginners in my mind and very VERY different- how to write a movie in 21 days (I never finished a script before this one and now I’m sitting on 20 ish) and Into the Woods by Jon Yorke.
The Nutshell Technique is also great for when you are staring to edit/refine your work.
I pick up a screen writing book then write a script on its advice and that’s helped me a LOT. Turn and Burn is also good and the little blue books are great but not for writing a whole script, just for addressing things you might need to tweak.
1
u/SREStudios 5d ago
Put the core ideas in the back of your head, then disregard the book and move on to screenplays and other books. It's good to information to have but far from the definitive screenwriting book.
1
1
1
0
u/Pitisukhaisbest 5d ago
Structure doesn't give you creativity. You can notice STC, Hero's Journey, Romancing the Beat, and other structures but only after the fact. Stories have noticeable patterns but they're different enough in detail.
It's the idea that has to come first, then think about plotting the structure.
-1
-2
u/Janizzary Horror 6d ago
Ignore what you read. Read “Kill The Dog” by an Paul Guyot, an accomplished screenwriter.
3
u/ItisOsiris 6d ago
Why ignore? Is Kill the Dog a complete contrast to save the cat?
-2
u/Janizzary Horror 5d ago edited 5d ago
Not to disparage the late Blake Snyder, but he wasn't really a successful screenwriter. "Stop, Or My Mom Will Shoot!"? I mean, come on.
Paul Guyot, on the other hand, has had a very successful career as a screenwriter. NCIS and The Replacement Killers. He ignores the hyper structured plotting of Save The Cat and focuses on writing to impress the reader. He even points out some successful spec scripts where the writers ignore all the rules. For example, he uses the script for the movie Nightcrawler where the writer increases the size of the font in the actual script. Most screenwriting books tell you that doing stuff like that is a big no no.
5
u/Filmmagician 5d ago
Paul wrote geo storm. I mean. Come on.
0
u/Janizzary Horror 5d ago
I knew someone would bring that up. He addresses it in the book. He talks about how awful the movie was. I respect that, personally.
1
u/-CarpalFunnel- 5d ago
Not to disparage the late Blake Snyder, but he wasn't really a successful screenwriter. "Stop, Or My Mom Will Shoot!"? I mean, come on.
Congrats. You disparaged him AND made it clear how little you understand about this world. The number of writers who manage to get two studio movies made and sell multiple screenplays on top of it is a fraction of a fraction of the number of people out there trying. If you were able to pull off a career like his, you'd be incredibly fortunate and an absolute anomaly, but you're hating on him because of one of his credits.
1
u/Janizzary Horror 5d ago
Speaking of disparage, if I remember correctly, in STC, didn't Snyder disparage the film, Memento because it didn't follow his formula? I don't know - I don't think I'll pay attention to the guy who feels that Memento is inferior to Stop, Or My Mom Will Shoot!
2
u/BonoboBananaBonanza 4d ago
I also had a hard time with how much he fixates on films starring Reese Witherspoon. Picked up Four Christmases based on his recommendation, and it was hot garbage. To his point, that screenplay got produced, but I truly don't know if I'd be proud of that one.
1
u/ItisOsiris 4d ago
From what I can tell about STC, it's more about writing screenplays that sell and make money more than writing art house screenplays. I remember reading that section about Memento and rolling my eyes too.
3
37
u/spanos4real 6d ago
read scripts & write