While taking the course on Writing a Proposal for TV, one of the books recommended was Blake Snyder’s SAVE THE CAT –  The Last Book On Screenwriting That You’ll Ever Need.

My intention here is certainly not to write a review of the book. The guy’s got almost 5,000 ratings, 80% of them 5 stars.

But before I tell you why I am writing about Save the Cat, let me let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, and explain the title in Blake’s words:

Save the Cat is the screenwriting rule that says… it’s the scene where we meet the hero and the hero does something -like saving a cat – that defines who he is and make us, the audience, like him.

Further in the book, Blake explains his test marketing method:

I pitch to anyone who will stand still. I do it in line at Starbucks. I do it with friends and strangers. I always spill my guts when it comes to discussing what I’m working on, because:

I have no fear that anyone will steal my idea (and anyone who has that fear is an amateur and…

You find out more about your script by talking to people.

I talk to “civilians’”

Which brings me to THANK ALL OF YOU who provided me with comments, suggestions and encouragements regarding my logline (see previous post).

One comment was that the absent father may not be the best term to use. For an indebt comment on my logline you may want to read the comments posted by PRIOR.

Perhaps abandoned fathers might be a better term.

If you’re interested in writing a screenplay you might consider having a look at this book.

One last word. I am aware that taking on this project and especially talking about it places me in a vulnerable position. What if I fail (and the chances, considering my zero contacts with the business) are quite high.

I will continue to work on my logline and will also write about the other aspects of screenwriting which are the concept, the characters, genre, the setting, and the all intimidating screenwriting software which I am in the process of learning.

If anything, all this gives me material to post on my blog. 😉