Ten Speed Press Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book On Novel Writing That You'll Ever Need

Just finishing ’Save the Cat Writes a Novel ‘ The Last Book on Novel Writing You’ll Ever Need. I don’t normally do reviews, but this book is certainly worthy of some attention. A couple of years ago I signed up for and started attending a writing course at a local college. What I had hoped to get was some specific instruction on structure, pacing, characterisation and the like. But while the course was pleasant enough, I couldn’t see any of what I really needed and dropped out. I feel that I should have read this book three years ago. It explains exactly what I, and possibly most other wannabe writers should know and do. There is a detailed breakdown into fifteen milestones, (she calls them ‘Beats’, I think in reference to the beat in music), each is explained, with reference to well-known books and one is further sub-divided into five mini-beats. She also lists ten genres which are not the traditional type of genre such as mystery, romance, sci-fi, etc. but which are much more wide-ranging and which make a lot of sense, such as Whydunit, Rites of Passage, Dude with a Problem, etc. Three points are required in each of these genres and each genre is then explored with a specific novel that is exploded using the beats. A ‘Beat-Sheet’ is given so that you can see how other authors, from JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner, have created their masterpieces and match her template. Jessica Brody, the author, writes in terms that I can understand, with multiple relevant examples, and walks the reader through the whole process of planning and creating a novel. Highly recommended.

I view a lot of writing craft books not as 'how to' resources, but more along the lines of a provision of tools to add to your toolbox for the purpose of writing, plotting, and editing your manuscript. Because writing is art - a creative journey - and a big part of that is getting into a flow state: that place where your imagination takes over and you start to grow your own world on the page. So books like 'Save the Cat! Writes a Novel' are there for you to hone your craft, offer tools to improve, fill in the gaps, so that the final result is more appealing to a wider group of readers. I say this because I don't think "writing by numbers," as in following a recipe from concept to final product is the best route... I feel it can lose passion, soul, and a unique element for your story. So what 'Save the Cat! Writes a Novel' offers is a great structure, language, and tools to help identify the mechanics behind crafting a story, and offer way to implement them - with examples! This book comes particularly in handy if: you've got a story concept but don't know how to develop it into a fully formed plot; you've written a first draft and are going back over it to improve; hitting that developmental edit (structural edit); or you have too many ideas in your story and need to focus it down to what is really important. 'Save the Cat! Writes a Novel' is big picture thinking for your manuscript! It asks questions you may not have thought of asking about your story, characters, and world. I've added a few tweaks to my writing/editing process after reading 'Save the Cat! Writes a Novel' and see myself referring to this often. A great resource and highly recommended.

Bellissimo manuale di scrittura creativa molto pratico e chiaro nello spiegare come progettare e scrivere un romanzo. Ricco di esempi tratti da romanzi attuali, il linguaggio è semplice e chiaro, l'unico neo se così posso chiamarlo è che il manuale è in inglese.

Ik had al een digitale versie van het boek, maar ik vind dit boek zo goed, dat ik ook een papieren versie wilde hebben. Ik heb stickertjes aangebracht, zodat ik gemakkelijk alles kan terugvinden. Twijfel je tussen de ebook- en de papieren, kan dit je misschien helpen. Tip voor de uitgever. Een luxere versie met bijvoorbeeld gekleurde pagina’s zou een aanrader zijn en dat verdient dit boek ook.

Last book you will ever read :)