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Save the Cat!
- The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
- Categories: Arts & Entertainment, Entertainment & Performing Arts
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Save the Cat! Strikes Back
- Written by: Blake Snyder
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
- Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Blake Snyder, author of Save the Cat! and Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies, has delivered the audiobook countless readers and students have clamored for. Inspired by questions from his workshops, lectures, and emails, Blake listened to you and provides new tips, tactics, and techniques to solve your writing problems and create stories that resonate.
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Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies
- The Screenwriter's Guide to Every Story Ever Told
- Written by: Blake Snyder
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- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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In the perfect companion piece to his first book, Blake Snyder delivers even more insider information gleaned from a 20-year track record as one of Hollywood's most successful spec screenwriters. Designed for screenwriters, novelists, and movie fans, this book gives listeners key breakdowns of the 50 most instructional movies from the past 30 years. From M*A*S*H to Crash, Alien to Saw, and 10 to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Snyder reveals how screenwriters in the past tackled the same challenges faced by screenwriters today.
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Dialogue
- The Art of Verbal Action for Page, Stage, and Screen
- Written by: Robert McKee
- Narrated by: Robert McKee
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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In Dialogue, Robert McKee offers in-depth analysis for how characters speak on the screen, on the stage, and on the page in believable and engaging ways. From Macbeth to Breaking Bad, McKee deconstructs key scenes to illustrate the strategies and techniques of dialogue. Dialogue applies a framework of incisive thinking to instruct the prospective writer on how to craft artful, impactful speech.
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Brilliant and Dedicated
- By Tim Feller on 2020-01-17
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Creating Character Arcs
- The Masterful Author's Guide to Uniting Story Structure, Plot, and Character Development
- Written by: K.M. Weiland
- Narrated by: Sonja Field
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Have you written a story with an exciting concept and interesting characters - but it just isn't grabbing the attention of readers or agents? It's time to look deeper into the story beats that create realistic and compelling character arcs. Internationally published, award-winning novelist K.M. Weiland shares her acclaimed method for achieving memorable and moving character arcs in every book you write.
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Indispensable
- By Alex Makar (the author!) on 2019-09-19
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Save the Cat! Writes a Novel
- The Last Book on Novel Writing You'll Ever Need
- Written by: Jessica Brody
- Narrated by: Jessica Brody
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Novelist Jessica Brody presents a comprehensive story-structure guide for novelists that applies the famed Save the Cat! screenwriting methodology to the world of novel writing. Revealing the 15 "beats" (plot points) that comprise a successful story - from the opening image to the finale - this audiobook lays out the 10 story genres ("Monster in the House"; "Whydunit"; "Dude with a Problem") alongside quirky, original insights ("Save the Cat"; "Shard of Glass") to help novelists craft a plot that will captivate - and a novel that will sell.
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Not much new here from the original Save The Cat
- By SkyWarp on 2019-02-20
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The Idea
- The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage or Fiction
- Written by: Erik Bork
- Narrated by: Erik Bork
- Length: 3 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Most screenwriting books tend to focus on story structure, scene writing, navigating the business, and other parts of the craft that come after the initial choice of the central concept for a story. Multiple Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning writer/producer Erik Bork (HBO’s Band of Brothers) takes a different approach. His experience in the industry and as a screenwriting professor and coach have led him to recognize that it's the selection of the initial idea that is the most important part of the process - with the most impact on the project's chance of success.
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Top notch.
- By William Gould on 2020-03-05
-
Save the Cat! Strikes Back
- Written by: Blake Snyder
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
- Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Blake Snyder, author of Save the Cat! and Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies, has delivered the audiobook countless readers and students have clamored for. Inspired by questions from his workshops, lectures, and emails, Blake listened to you and provides new tips, tactics, and techniques to solve your writing problems and create stories that resonate.
-
Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies
- The Screenwriter's Guide to Every Story Ever Told
- Written by: Blake Snyder
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the perfect companion piece to his first book, Blake Snyder delivers even more insider information gleaned from a 20-year track record as one of Hollywood's most successful spec screenwriters. Designed for screenwriters, novelists, and movie fans, this book gives listeners key breakdowns of the 50 most instructional movies from the past 30 years. From M*A*S*H to Crash, Alien to Saw, and 10 to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Snyder reveals how screenwriters in the past tackled the same challenges faced by screenwriters today.
-
Dialogue
- The Art of Verbal Action for Page, Stage, and Screen
- Written by: Robert McKee
- Narrated by: Robert McKee
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Dialogue, Robert McKee offers in-depth analysis for how characters speak on the screen, on the stage, and on the page in believable and engaging ways. From Macbeth to Breaking Bad, McKee deconstructs key scenes to illustrate the strategies and techniques of dialogue. Dialogue applies a framework of incisive thinking to instruct the prospective writer on how to craft artful, impactful speech.
-
-
Brilliant and Dedicated
- By Tim Feller on 2020-01-17
-
Creating Character Arcs
- The Masterful Author's Guide to Uniting Story Structure, Plot, and Character Development
- Written by: K.M. Weiland
- Narrated by: Sonja Field
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Have you written a story with an exciting concept and interesting characters - but it just isn't grabbing the attention of readers or agents? It's time to look deeper into the story beats that create realistic and compelling character arcs. Internationally published, award-winning novelist K.M. Weiland shares her acclaimed method for achieving memorable and moving character arcs in every book you write.
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-
Indispensable
- By Alex Makar (the author!) on 2019-09-19
-
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel
- The Last Book on Novel Writing You'll Ever Need
- Written by: Jessica Brody
- Narrated by: Jessica Brody
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Novelist Jessica Brody presents a comprehensive story-structure guide for novelists that applies the famed Save the Cat! screenwriting methodology to the world of novel writing. Revealing the 15 "beats" (plot points) that comprise a successful story - from the opening image to the finale - this audiobook lays out the 10 story genres ("Monster in the House"; "Whydunit"; "Dude with a Problem") alongside quirky, original insights ("Save the Cat"; "Shard of Glass") to help novelists craft a plot that will captivate - and a novel that will sell.
-
-
Not much new here from the original Save The Cat
- By SkyWarp on 2019-02-20
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The Idea
- The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage or Fiction
- Written by: Erik Bork
- Narrated by: Erik Bork
- Length: 3 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Most screenwriting books tend to focus on story structure, scene writing, navigating the business, and other parts of the craft that come after the initial choice of the central concept for a story. Multiple Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning writer/producer Erik Bork (HBO’s Band of Brothers) takes a different approach. His experience in the industry and as a screenwriting professor and coach have led him to recognize that it's the selection of the initial idea that is the most important part of the process - with the most impact on the project's chance of success.
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Top notch.
- By William Gould on 2020-03-05
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Storynomics
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- Narrated by: Robert Mckee, Thomas Gerace
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
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Robert McKee's popular writing workshops have earned him an international reputation. The list of alumni with Academy Awards and Emmy Awards runs off the page. The cornerstone of his program is his singular book, Story, which has defined how we talk about the art of story creation. Now in Storynomics, McKee partners with digital marketing expert and Skyword CEO Tom Gerace to map a path for brands seeking to navigate the rapid decline of interrupt advertising.
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Best book on purposeful storytelling I've read.
- By J-Ryze on 2019-07-05
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Screenwriting 101: Mastering the Art of Story
- Written by: Angus Fletcher, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Angus Fletcher
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Original Recording
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Whether you want to write your own scripts or simply gain a deeper appreciation for the great stories you see unfold on the screen, Professor Angus Fletcher is here to show you the way in Screenwriting 101: Mastering the Art of Story. Professor Fletcher, Professor of English and Film at The Ohio State University, brings both a personal and scholarly perspective to this craft. As a screenwriter himself, he has experienced the ins and outs of the process first-hand.
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Not practical
- By Marie-Louise on 2019-01-03
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Directing Actors
- Written by: Judith Weston
- Narrated by: Judith Weston
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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This essential guide demonstrates what constitutes a good performance and what actors want from directors, and it gives helpful insight into the director/actor relationship.
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The Nutshell Technique
- Crack the Secret of Successful Screenwriting
- Written by: Jill Chamberlain
- Narrated by: Sonja Field
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Veteran script consultant Jill Chamberlain discovered in her work that an astounding 99 percent of first-time screenwriters don't know how to tell a story. What the 99 percent do instead is present a situation. In order to explain the difference, Chamberlain created the nutshell technique, a method whereby writers identify eight dynamic, interconnected elements that are required to successfully tell a story. Now, for the first time, Chamberlain presents her unique method in audiobook form with The Nutshell Technique: Crack the Secret of Successful Screenwriting.
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On Writing
- A Memoir of the Craft
- Written by: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Stephen King, Joe Hill, Owen King
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Immensely helpful and illuminating to any aspiring writer, this special edition of Stephen King’s critically lauded, million-copy best seller shares the experiences, habits, and convictions that have shaped him and his work.
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The Ultimate Primer for Aspiring Writers
- By George Pickstock on 2018-09-18
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The Hero with a Thousand Faces
- The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell
- Written by: Joseph Campbell
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey, John Lee, Susan Denaker
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Since its release in 1949, The Hero with a Thousand Faces has influenced millions of readers by combining the insights of modern psychology with Joseph Campbell's revolutionary understanding of comparative mythology. In this book, Campbell outlines the Hero's Journey, a universal motif of adventure and transformation that runs through virtually all of the world's mythic traditions. He also explores the Cosmogonic Cycle, the mythic pattern of world creation and destruction.
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Not sure why this is a classic.
- By Andrew Jones on 2018-02-20
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Finish the Script!
- A College Screenwriting Course in Book Form
- Written by: Scott King
- Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
- Length: 4 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Finish The Script! is a screenwriting audiobook for anyone who wants to be a writer. It takes a step-by-step approach and focuses not only on theory but also on the actual writing process. It's a full college course squeezed into audiobook form that will take novice writers from concept through rewrite. Based on actual class lectures and assignments, Finish the Script! is for any writer looking for that extra push and guidance.
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Real Good
- By matt dibenedetto on 2019-09-05
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Wired for Story
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- Written by: Lisa Cron
- Narrated by: Wendy Tremont King
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Imagine knowing what the brain craves from every tale it encounters, what fuels the success of any great story, and what keeps people transfixed. Wired for Story reveals these cognitive secrets - and it's a game-changer for anyone who has ever set pen to paper. The vast majority of writing advice focuses on "writing well" as if it were the same as telling a great story. This is exactly where many aspiring writers fail - they strive for beautiful metaphors, authentic dialogue, and interesting characters, losing sight of the one thing that every engaging story must do.
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Story Genius
- How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere)
- Written by: Lisa Cron
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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It's every novelist's greatest fear: pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into writing hundreds of pages only to realize that their story has no sense of urgency, no internal logic, and so is a page-one rewrite. The prevailing wisdom in the writing community is that there are just two ways around this problem: pantsing (winging it) and plotting (focusing on the external plot).
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The Hero's 2 Journeys
- Written by: Michael Hauge, Christopher Vogler
- Narrated by: Michael Hauge, Christopher Vogler
- Length: 3 hrs and 15 mins
- Original Recording
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Make your story the best it can be on two levels. Hear each superstar teacher present his unique approach to story telling.
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Absolutely riveting and powerful
- By firehorse7 on 2020-09-10
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Using Myth to Power Your Story
- Written by: Christopher Vogler
- Narrated by: Christopher Vogler
- Length: 3 hrs and 52 mins
- Original Recording
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This delightful workshop covers how you can use the myths and fairy tales that link us all to give your story more oomph. Get ready to laugh while you learn, because the speaker is a natural storyteller and a witty observer of life. Whether you're creating a screenplay, a novel, a play, a computer game, a puppet show, or just an entry in your journal, your story will be richer, it will touch more people, and it will have more meaning and depth after you listen to Chris Vogler's talk.
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Incredibly Informative Must-have For Any Storytell
- By firehorse7 on 2020-10-25
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True Indie
- Life and Death in Filmmaking
- Written by: Don Coscarelli
- Narrated by: Don Coscarelli
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Best known for his horror/sci-fi/fantasy films including Phantasm, The Beastmaster, Bubba Ho-tep, and John Dies at the End, now Don Coscarelli’s taking you on a white-knuckle ride through the rough and tumble world of indie film. This memoir fits an entire film school education into a single audiobook. It’s loaded with behind-the-scenes stories and will prove indispensable for fans of Coscarelli’s movies, aspiring filmmakers, and anyone who loves a story of an underdog who prevails while not betraying what he believes.
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Read this if you wanna get inspired!!
- By Anonymous User on 2019-04-26
Publisher's Summary
Here's what started the phenomenon: This book has been a best seller for over 15 years and has been used by screenwriters around the world! Blake Snyder tells all in this fast, funny, and candid look inside the movie business. Save the Cat is just one of many ironclad rules for making your ideas more marketable and your script more satisfying. Others include these:
- The four elements of every winning logline
- The seven immutable laws of screenplay physics
- The 10 genres that every movie ever made can be categorized by - and why they're important to your script
- Why your hero must serve your idea
- Mastering the 15 beats
- Creating the perfect beast by using the board to map 40 scenes with conflict and emotional change
- How to get back on track with proven rules for script repair
This ultimate insider's guide reveals the secrets that none dare admit, told by a show biz veteran who's proven that you can sell your script if you can save the cat.
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What listeners say about Save the Cat!
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jason
- 2018-12-07
Great info but lacking PDF content
I found the concepts in this book very helpful and well put together. However, it has been difficult putting the concepts into action without a visual guide. A lot of the concepts would benefit from a PDF attachment similar to the ones found provided with other audio books of this type. I contacted the publisher directly and they suggested I buy the content again in text form.... That was annoying. To spite how well done the audio book is you should consider buying a text copy instead.
4 people found this helpful
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- Christy
- 2020-12-11
Light hearted, helpful, and enjoyable advice
Overall I really enjoyed this book, it was actually an assigned reading for one of my university classes. Blake Snider writes with a very active voice and it's very straight forward to follow what he is saying. He explains things well and it makes sense. I am by no means a writer but I have a bit of a better understanding of what my framework for script writing should be. For example what sort of questions I should be asking myself, what details to focus or not focus on, or what the progression of events should be to name a few. I actually listened to this in one day, it didn't get boring whatsoever. The narrator is great and has good animated inflection. He doesn't drone on he reads the book with the same enthusiasm that I imagine Snyder wrote it in. Overall this is an enjoyable quick light read and I would recommend for those who may be struggling with some writers block or even just want some insight to the screen writing process.
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- Dan C.
- 2019-12-19
Very informative.
Contains a lot of useful information. Although having only gotten two awful movies made, I question the author's credibility to some degree.
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- Siloetry
- 2019-02-23
Truly insightful
If you are a young screenwriter looking for a book that will help you improve your writing, then this is the book for you. It’s helped me transform my screenplays into something I can be proud of.
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- Erik Larson
- 2018-06-29
little full of himslef but is very helpful.
Has helpful tips if you cant figure out why somthing isnt working or dialog is lacking he gives you some nice tools to use. overall its a good one to read!
9 people found this helpful
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- Gerard Ruybal
- 2018-09-07
overall really good advice
I had heard about this book from many people with stealer reviews and it lives up to the expectation. The writer gives solid advice to build a screenwriting foundation off of but there are a lot of rules I think could be more flexible that the writer insist are concrete. Overall would 100% recommend to aspiring screenwriters.
7 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2020-02-05
Don't waste your time
The author brags about selling screenplays so I looked up what he wrote. He actually won an award (a Razzie for worst screenplay). Most new screenwriters want to write a good story, not just one that will sell. He completely lost me when he started taking jabs at classic movies.
6 people found this helpful
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- MovieGuy
- 2019-04-28
My Favorite Screenwriting Book
I've read and listened to a large number of books on screenwriting/writing. Although many of them I found helpful, this is by far my favorite. Why? It's very close to 100% usable, practical, actionable advise that makes sense and I believe works. Not only that but it's presented in a very congenial, conversational way (unlike, for example McKee's And Field's books which are so stuffy and academic it makes their books far less accessible, and difficult to even concentrate on when listening to them read). The criticism that I often hear about this (and his other) books is that they are "cookie cutter", meaning that it's kind of a one-size-fits-all sort of approach. That is true imo, and I don't agree with all Synder's advice (he's pretty much a one-genre guy (Romantic Comedy), and it isn't the genre that I write, so some of the things he says, imo, are not that applicable to some other genres (like Sci Fi and Horror, which are mine), but still most of his stuff is applicable across the board, and it's certainly helped my writing, and will help yours too.
4 people found this helpful
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- Tomi Miettinen
- 2018-11-27
Nothing special
Honestly, i think the book is quite mediocre. I didn't find it particularly useful nor did i learn very much from it. Great narration, though.
4 people found this helpful
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- Adam
- 2019-07-05
Great how to book on writing
I read Save the Cat about 5 years ago and loved it. This is a great book for writers and especially for screenwriters. The narrator George Newbern did a great job with Blake Snyder's POV.
3 people found this helpful
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- Xander Turian
- 2019-03-13
Specific and Inspiring
Very clear and concise in his writing, Blake Snyder gives a true blueprint with specific points to follow and help break up the writing process into palatable pieces.
3 people found this helpful
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- angel sturgill
- 2020-11-13
Amazing information, but I lost engagement
The information is GOLD! But as far as structure, it wasn’t as engaging. The first few chapters about structure were good. The bits of nuggets scattered throughout make it totally worth it. But it’s not fun listening to lists, or shotgun bullet points. The later half of the book is a list of his advice.
2 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 2020-06-25
Outdated but kind of helpful I guess?
The one word to sum up Blake Snyder’s rules and advice on writing movies is “outdated.” He comes from a time of Hollywood in the 80s and 90s where family comedies were the biggest fad and that’s where he has his experience writing. While some of the references have been updated to as late as 2009 (the year he unfortunately passed away), the films he heralds as great models are generally unimpressive, heartless and forgotten comedies. The industry has changed so much since this was written, I think there’s more of a focus now on innovative and experimental stories and ways of telling said stories, with filmmakers like Tarantino, Denis Villeneuve, and Christopher Nolan (whose breakout film Memento is detested by Snyder for the absolute dumbest reasons) breaking the mould and ushering in this new mindset of Hollywood. At the end of the day, Snyder is more concerned with selling a screenplay than telling a good and engaging story. This is evident in his less than impressive resume. Only two of his sold scripts have ever been made, and you’ve never seen or heard of either. However! He is a veteran of the industry and does have wisdom to share. While I didn’t agree with his ideas or rules, I found ways to adapt his lessons into guidelines that could I could make useful for myself in 2020. So if you decide to read or listen to the book, I recommend trying to find ways to learn from his ideas rather than taking them at face value.
2 people found this helpful
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- Kevin Potter
- 2019-06-03
Enlightening and, frankly, disheartening
There's definitely a lot of great info here, and I would absolutely call it an invaluable resource for any aspiring screen writer. I don't have a lot to say about the narrator. In this kind of non-fiction, the only real requirements are a reasonably pleasant voice and clear, understandable speech. Which George Newbern manages perfectly. There are honestly a lot of great storytelling precepts herein, but there are almost as many things that I disagree with on a visceral level. I also highly disagree with the author about his opinion of... Well... Pretty much every movie he analyzes. I can accept, however, that the author's idea of the "perfect" movie is just about the complete opposite of mine. I have to admit that 99% of my disappointment with this book was not the material (the value here was great), but rather with the picture he paints of the state of Hollywood and film making in general. In short, anyone who is the least bit curious about screenwriting or script analysis could definitely benefit from reading this book.
2 people found this helpful
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- Emanuele Ricci
- 2019-12-06
Useful for beginners
It has some precious insights for who wants to takle PG comedies, but for other genres leave it alone. For a book that stresses the importance of a sympathetic hero, the author manages to appear exceptionally unpleasant and full of himself.