How "Save The Cat" Just Might Revolutionize This Writer Girl's Life

I just came back from a weekend writing workshop with the amazing Jessica Brody learning about a fabulous writing method based on Blake Snyder's screenwriting book "Save The Cat". Jessica offered an insightful, fun weekend showing myself and five other fantastic authors how to apply this easy technique to novels and make foolproof, tight stories that hit the marks every time. It also helped provide a window into understanding why some stories work so incredibly well when you can break them down and analyze them using this method.

"Save The Cat" essentially relies on a 15-beat structure, which means that within the framework of each story, there are certain story elements that must happen at certain times. The page count these points can fall on varies within each story, but it gives the writer a general idea if they are on track with their pacing and including all the necessary ingredients to keep the reader intrigued. Chances are, if your story is missing "something", if you plug it into the beats you will find out not only what it is but where it needs to go. Incredible, right?

Though some might argue that essentially this makes the story feel "formulaic", I would have to disagree. It just follows the rule of thumb that you must have a hero who wants something (a goal), a conflict (a person, place, or thing standing in the her's way of achieving that goal. Very often this can be the hero themselves and their flaws or the lesson they have yet to learn but are not yet willing to accept and see), a moment of truth and a finale, where the hero has accepted his fate/learned his lesson, etc. and has changed from who he was at the beginning of the story, hopefully for the better.

Additionally, we explored the idea of making a "board" and using notecards to represent each scene to help map out the story, and learned to polish our loglines. At the end of the second day, I had my next novel completely plotted out and it's logline written. Now all I need to do is sit down and write it, but I can't imagine it won't be soooooo much easier to do than other things I've written because I completely have a roadmap.

I'll admit it, I do things kind of ass-backwards when it comes to writing. I'm not a planner, or an outliner; I just sit down and start typing. That's why, very often, my work will have multiple drafts, because I can always count on the first being more of a giant stream-of-consciousness, and in the second draft I go through and tighten and tweak, and continue for as many drafts as needed until it feels ready. This much structure is very new to me, and as much as I'm not big on change . . . I love it. I now can't imagine sitting down to write without doing this first. In fact, it doesn't even make sense NOT to! I've eliminated a ton of head scratching and writer's block before I've ever even typed Chapter One, not to mention all the calories saved from cupcakes eaten in frustration.

So writer to writer, I can't recommend enough that you check out this book and see if it helps jumpstart your writing in a different way, and better yet, sign up for a course if one is offered in your area. Nothing can compare to actually sitting with a group of other writers and workshopping something and seeing it all come together. The excitement is contagious.

Have any of you used this method? What are your thoughts on it?

How To Keep Your Readers Turning The Page

I went to a fantastic writing workshop last night taught by bestselling YA author Jessica Brody that offered some fantastic nuggets of wisdom about how to keep your readers turning the page and hungering for more. The fact that I got lost coming home in the streets of downtown Los Angeles at 11 p.m. and felt like I was in a bad Corey Haim movie is a whole other story for another day, but I digress . . . These simple techniques can be applied to any type of story in any genre, and can make all the difference in making your book one that they can't put down.

HIDING THE BALL AND CREATING SUSPENSE
Jessica said that one of the best ways to get your reader engaged right away is to "hide the ball" - that is, to start in the middle of an action and write around it, but never actually reveal to the reader what is actually going on. It keeps them guessing. You plant the seeds of what is going on all around them - what they are seeing, smelling, small pieces of backstory that led to what has occurred, etc. If you can write your entire first chapter this way, the reader will be anxious to read the next because now they are dying to know what has happened, and if they guessed correctly.

CLIFFHANGER ENDINGS
It's always best to cut in the middle of the scene so that it ends before the resolution. This way, the reader continues to be propelled forth along with the character to find out what happens next. She often likes to end with a line of dialogue that sets you up for the next scene, whether it be in the MC's interior monologue or another character speaking. Sometimes she will not even say who says that line of dialogue, which adds further intrigue. Ending with a character's dilemma or the character figuring out something about themselves or the situation they are in allows the reader to be in sync with the MC, because you don't want your reader to be ahead of them or your story can become predictable.

SHORTER CHAPTERS
Ever read a book that seemed like a fast read that you just couldn't put down? The length of your chapters can make a huge difference in the pacing. Short chapters lasting 4-6 pages in length can create the illusion of speed, especially if each one ends with a cliffhanger.

PEPPERING YOUR STORY WITH LITTLE MYSTERIES
Adding mystery to your story keeps the reader going even through the slower parts. The "A" story is your character's story (i.e. the logline of your book). The "B" & "C" stories are the secondary stories that involve who your character meets, their relationships, the subplots, etc. All of these stories should converge with your "A" story, showing us your character's world. For example, in Jessica's book "My Life, Undecided", her MC is volunteering at an old age home and meets a crotchety old lady. Uncovering the mystery of why this woman is so bitter keeps the reader not only intrigued in that "B" story, but also serves to showcase to the MC what she will turn out like if she doesn't make some changes in her own life. Plant seeds along the way of things that will show up later and prove to be important.

Pick up a few of your favorite novels and see if you can find these techniques applied throughout!