Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need

“[L]iking the person we go on a journey with is the single most important element in drawing us into the story.”

The reason that Snyder titled the book Save the Cat! is to highlight the importance of the Likability of the Hero. The protagonist, whether they’re an anti-hero or non-human, must be someone the audience will want to see win. Without that likability, Snyder argues, the audience may not care what happens to the hero.

“A logline is like the cover of a book; a good one makes you want to open it, right now, to find out what’s inside.”

The importance of a good logline is emphasized throughout the book. A logline should not only have a hook but also help someone “see” the rest of the movie, encompassing both the hero and conflict. Irony, Snyder notes, is important to revealing the conflict.

“I care less about what is au currant and more about what works and what is simple common sense.”

Snyder makes this comment in discussing how the term “high concept” has fallen out of fashion in Hollywood. Critics may deride what is “high concept” as basic or simplistic, but Snyder defends such films as easy to understand and to sell.

“A screenwriter’s daily conundrum is how to avoid cliché.”

Some of the tension between artistic freedom and structure is conveyed in this statement. Artists seek to be original, but Snyder points out that stories tend to fall into 10 basic categories that have existed for centuries, if not millennia. The challenge to the writer is to make their story, in whatever category, fresh and interesting.

“Movies are intricately made emotion machines. They are Swiss watches of precise gears and spinning wheels that make them tick.”

Emotions are what drive movie sales, and well-made movies are able to evoke a range of emotional responses in the viewers. Snyder asserts that there is a science to it, especially in getting the audience “on board” with the hero. Key to connecting with an audience is Making It Primal, ensuring that the plot and hero are driven by universal and powerful emotions.

“A hero goes ‘on the road’ in search of one thing and winds up discovering something else—himself.”

According to the author, all heroes must undergo growth and evolution in the course of the story. Otherwise, the story won’t have much impact. Even in “Golden Fleece” movies, such as heist adventures, if the characters do not experience some self-discovery, then the picture may feel flat.

“It’s just two people who can’t stand the fact that they don’t live as well without each other, who will have to surrender their egos to win.”

This description is Snyder’s perception of the “Buddy Love” category of story, which includes love stories. Often in these movies, the hero and the companion initially do not like each other or have differences that cause conflict.

“Unlike the Golden Fleece, a good Whydunit isn’t about the hero changing, it’s about the audience discovering something about human nature they did not think was possible before the ‘crime’ was committed and the ‘case’ began.”

This category of story type seems not to follow Snyder’s rule that the heroes in all good stories must change. The change, however, is there—it’s just more subtle in that it’s a recognition of the various forces of human nature. The hero in these stories, therefore, ends up in a more enlightened position, at least with regard to the crime.

“True originality can’t begin until you know what you’re breaking away from.”

Knowing the rules and the history of the medium in which one works is important. Those who successfully break the rules—and Snyder cites Steven Spielberg and Pablo Picasso as examples—have studied the basics and the history of their art so that they know what has come before, what works and what doesn’t.

“Like little time bombs, these Six Things That Need Fixing, these character tics and flaws, will be exploded later in the script, turned on their heads and cured.”

Having a perfect hero, one who doesn’t need to change, makes for a flat, uninteresting story. Even superheroes should wrestle with some problem, such as not belonging or being misunderstood. The number six here is arbitrary; Snyder simply encourages writers to have multiple issues that offer growth potential or can be used as call-backs later in the movie.

“It’s where the old world, the old character, the old way of thinking dies. And it clears the way for the fusion of these—what was—and antithesis—the upside down version of what was—to become synthesis, that being a new world, a new life.”

These lines address what happens in the beat from Act 2 called the “All Is Lost” moment. Snyder urges writers to include a “whiff of death” (86) to help audiences understand that the world that was set up in Act 1 is no more, and that the hero must gather resources, strength, and knowledge to continue on the journey.

“Then and only then, when we admit our humility and our humanity, and yield our control of events over to Fate, do we find the solution. We must be beaten and know it to get the lesson.”

This realization happens in the break into the third act. It is not enough for the hero to suffer a defeat of some sort. The hero must realize a lesson that will aid in their emotional growth in order to come to the resolution of the story in Act 3.

“It’s a lot easier to see and move cards around on a board than chunks of your own writage that you’ve fallen in love with. It’s a lot harder to kill your darlings by then.”

Referencing an oft-repeated admonition for writers to “kill your darlings,” or be willing to do away with passages the writer holds precious, Snyder highlights one of the benefits of using the board. Namely, the board allows writers to do some editing before producing the actual text of the screenplay.

“The worst thing that can happen in screenwriting is not to finish.”

As Snyder points out, unfinished screenplays do not sell. One of his aims in writing the book is to help writers produce sellable scripts, which necessitates the writer finishing scripts. He advises writers to use the board to stay on track and to identify beforehand where problems may lie in their story.

“By needing so much backstory to set up the movie, the whole story has been torqued out of shape.”

In Snyder’s laws of screenwriting, he calls too much backstory “laying pipe,” and says that audiences only have so much tolerance for set-up. His suggestion is to return to the logline and make it solid, then review the beats on the board to balance the three acts.

“Danger must be present danger. Stakes must be stakes for people we care about. And what might happen to them must be shown from the get-go so we know the consequences of the imminent threat.”

One of Snyder’s laws for screenwriting states that the protagonist needs an understandable catalyst for taking actions that will change their world. If the stakes aren’t big enough or there isn’t a threat, then the hero’s motivations become unclear, and the movie risks seeming inane or dull.

“To succeed in life is to be able to transform. That’s why it’s the basis not only of good storytelling but also the world’s best-known religions. Change is good because it represents re-birth, the promise of a fresh start.”

Snyder references ancient tales and mythologies in his list of story types. All of the stories involve change, emotional growth, or evolution of some sort. This change gives characters an arc, which also makes them more dynamic and interesting.

“Good dialogue tells us more about what’s going on in its subtext than on its surface. Subtle is better. And talking the plot is like using a sledgehammer.”

Flat dialogue can wreck a movie. The author encourages screenwriters to make use of the visuals—something novelists lack—and to make the dialogue as much about what is not said as what is said.

“Aren’t the hero and the bad guy […] the light and dark sides of the same person? Aren’t they the positive and negative x-ray of one soul?”

Protagonists need antagonists who are either equal in power or stronger. In some ways, the hero and villain are mirror images, with the villain being what the hero may have become in different circumstances. Much as Snyder emphasizes the Likability of the Hero, he also emphasizes the importance of the antagonist providing the hero with an adequate challenge.

“If things happen in your movie but aren’t interesting, then all you’ve got is a chase […] but nothing about the chase provokes any activity behind the audience’s eyeballs. We’re just watching stuff happen, but nothing about it is engaging or humanly compelling.”

Snyder decries the trends in Hollywood movies where there is a lot of action and exciting special effects but not much attention to character development or the emotional engagement of the audience. Making It Primal is essential to ensuring stories have an emotional journey as well as a physical one. Without that, many chase scenes are spectacle without impact.

“We go to the movies not only to escape reality, and to ultimately learn a little lesson about Life, but to experience a dream state where Life and its attendant emotions are recreated in a safe environment.”

The author asserts that all good movies offer a range of emotional moments. Comedies should try to have some touching moments, while dramas could offer humor or fear. One emotional tone throughout a movie is not dynamic and may just be perceived as monotonous by the viewer.

“By making what drives your characters more primal, you’ll not only ground everything that happens in principles that connect in a visceral way, you also make it easier to see your story all over the world.”

Making a story primal is one of the most important pieces of advice in the book. Primal motivations resonate with people around the world because they are part of the shared human experience. Therefore, they do not require a lot of explanation or translation for worldwide markets.

“Just keep turning the crank. Any inroad, any one at all, is a gigantic leap forward.”

Snyder does not promise that selling a screenplay in Hollywood will be easy. He does, however, say that as long as the screenwriter keeps trying and takes advantage of any opportunity, connection, or progress, they are on a path that may eventually lead to success.