This book is the best purchase I have ever made as a novelist. It is so helpful for a plotter like me who still has a lot to learn about organizing ideas into a comprehendible storyline. Brody does a great job of explaining the story beats while also making the book easy and enjoyable to read. I would recommend this book to any writer, whether you are a total beginner or a published author looking to expand your knowledge. It truly is "The Last Book on Novel Writing You'll Ever Need."
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The most effective character goals or wants are concrete and tangible.Highlighted by 5,221 Kindle readers- And most important, what will really fix your hero’s life? What does your hero actually need?Highlighted by 3,478 Kindle readers
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Very Usefull!!
I’m working on a novel and this helps me get everything together and prepares me well for the questions I have. Like what the hero needs and how every chapter should be. It’s highly recommended to buy!!! It’s worth the money!! 100%
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2024
- Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2022
This book is a MUST for any aspiring fiction author.
Very engaging and well organized. Easy to follow. Use of popular references and explains them in a way that even if you haven't read those particular books, the references make sense in how she is explaining them.
I NEVER write in my books. But this one i have underlined, highlighted, and written notes in the margins. It's an invalid resource if you are writing a novel.
It begins by helping you craft your main character and what drives them. Then it has very detailed explanations of the 3 act, 15 beat structure.
Following the explanation of the beats, there are 10 chapters that explore the application of those beats in different genres of writing, using specific examples from books in each genre.
This book truly helped me figure out how to make my story progress at an engaging pace while still keeping true to the underlying theme. It really is the last book on novel writing you will ever need.
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- Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2020
- Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2021
Save the Cat Writes a Novel is a delightful must read for any writer. Within these pages, I found so many of the base rules and ideas of forming a story that I have always known to be true. Jessica Brody- and in relation, Blake Snyder, the original author of Save the Cat (for screenwriting)- gives a wonderful account of why people read the books they read. Not in genres of horror, fantasy, or romance, but in genres of a much more important sort: the genre of storytelling. For any writer, or reader, these tropes will be quite familiar- from the down and out underdog to the love that encourages change. The theory that any writing can fit into these beats is not just a theory, but utter truth. Even stories that are not the norm, that defies any trope, can be seen here in small, subtle connections.
While I find this novel to be accurate, and quite helpful in making the writer think about their stories, I’ve given it a four out of five stars for my personal reading experience. I judge writing craft books on two things: Useful information, and enjoyment in reading.
Useful information, this novel has in abundance. I find that I will likely use it as a reference book- something to flick open when I write a new story, to answer the questions within as I figure out where my story fits, or to reference the beats. The beat sheet within will work wonders for the hearts of plotters, though it is a little more in depth than my personal writing style, and that’s okay. This novel isn’t a die-hard blueprint to follow, but more of a guide.
However, when it comes to enjoyment of reading, I found myself struggling a little bit. A good amount of this book plots the beat-by-beat process of other novels, putting them into the Save the Cat theory format and showing why it appears again and again in our favorite novels. This is a brilliant way to show an example of the process, but I don’t think it is enticing enough to read again unless there is a specific reason. Thus, along with my lack of interest in the beat sheet, the next time I write a story, I will be pulling open the book and reading the specific chapter of the story genre I’m working with, but I don’t see myself rereading this entire book for quite some time.
Overall, I think this book is a good start for an inexperienced writer, or someone who wants to see into the mind of those who study stories for a living. Or perhaps, just to study someone who is more well read than they are, as this novel does have lists upon lists of books that are must reads. I would recommend Save the Cat Writes a Novel to anyone with a writing craft shelf in their library, a staple of the genre, but I would caution your expectations. This is a good textbook to make notes of, but the take-away of information will vary on the experience of the reader.
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- Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2025
Very Usefull!!I’m working on a novel and this helps me get everything together and prepares me well for the questions I have. Like what the hero needs and how every chapter should be. It’s highly recommended to buy!!! It’s worth the money!! 100%
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2025
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Top reviews from other countries
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Ana Cristina de la Hoz MadridReviewed in Mexico on November 9, 2023
El mejor manual que leí sobre como estructurar una novela.
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Lovely_LilaReviewed in Germany on December 26, 2023
DER Schreibratgeber schlechthin, der euch genau dort abholt, wo ihr steht! ♥
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- Laura A. BartonReviewed in Canada on March 20, 2021
A well presented thesis and argument on effective novel writing
