This is my review for the new Save the Cat! Story Cards. That’s right, I’m back again as a part of a WOW! Women on Writing’s blog tour. You might have read my last review of the writing craft book Save the Cat! Writes a Novel. If you’re coming from another stop on the tour, welcome! And if you’re not, you’re also welcome!
I love using Save the Cat! and the storytelling tricks it offers with my writing. I was given a free set of Save the Cat! Story Cards to review, and I was really interested to see how they could help my writing process.
I’ve been drafting a novella for a bit, and these cards seemed perfect for helping me strengthen my outline. They give all the major story beats of Save the Cat! on a convenient card I can fill in with my own plot points. Essentially, it’s a helpful little story planning guide.
What Are the Save the Cat! Story Cards?
So what is this thing? Why are we talking about cats, and are they really in danger?
A lot of writers really love Save the Cat! You won’t find a better guide to outline your story. It’s a beat sheet Blake Snyder created for creating awesome screenplays.
He researched famous movies and books and found the common plot ideas they share. Then, he stuffed all these ideas into a beat sheet and a book packed full of craft advice.
His foremost tip? If you need to make an unlikeable protagonist more likeable, have them save a cat (or do another good deed). That’s why it’s named Save the Cat!
Here’s more info on Save the Cat! from them:
About Save the Cat!®
Save the Cat! provides writers the resources they need to develop their screenplays and novels based on a series of best-selling books, primarily written by Blake Snyder (1957- 2009). Blake’s method is based on 10 distinctive genres and his 15 story beats (the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet). Our books, workshops, story structure software, apps, and story coaching teach you everything you need to unlock the fundamentals and mechanics of plot and character transformation.
So what are these cards? They take all of the beats of Save the Cat! and label them on neat little cards. Think of them as an improved version of the index cards you’re always writing scene ideas on.
Here’s the official blurb for them:
About Save the Cat! Story Cards
Introducing Save the Cat!®Story Cards, consisting of Save the Cat! Beat Cards and Save the Cat! Scene Cards, all designed to outline and develop your story.
Save the Cat! Beat Cards
Crack your story from the “Opening Image” to the “Final Image.” Save the Cat!® Beat Cards provide writers with the 15 key plot points to map out your script or novel. Every set contains 15 individual index cards with helpful explanations of each beat to form the foundation of your story.
Save the Cat! Scene Cards
Every scene of your story needs to communicate “place,” “basic action,” “emotional transformation,” and “outcome.” The Save the Cat!® Scene Cards help writers nail the purpose of every scene. Each set of cards contains 40 color-coded cards broken down by act, with 10 extra cards because we know you’ll need them.
You can learn more about them here: Save the Cat! Story Cards
So, here’s the real question: Are these story cards really helpful?
My Save the Cat! Story Cards Review
I’ve written stories using the fifteen Save the Cat! story beats before to guide my plot. They’re really amazing for shaping the pacing and structure of your story.
Really, I’d recommend any writer check out the original beat sheet or Save the Cat! Writes a Novel to see if it helps them plot better. Whether you’re a plotter or a pantser, it can really help you think about your story’s structure better.
The set comes with two types of cards: scene cards and beat cards. Save the Cat! Beat Cards are really just a neat visualization of the 15 essential story beats. You can write in your “final image” or “Break into Two” plot points. This will leave you with a fully sketched out story on a series of ordered note cards. Pacing and plotting your outline is practically done for you. The set comes with two of each card, so you can create two stories (or more, if you use an erasable pen like me).
The important story beats are:
- Opening Image
- Theme Stated
- Set-Up
- Catalyst
- Debate
- Break into Two
- B Story
- Fun and Games
- Midpoint
- Bad Guys Close In
- All Is Lost
- Dark Night of the Soul
- Break into Three
- Five-point Finale
- Final Image
Each card describes what the beat is, so if you’ve never Save the Cat! Before, you’ll still catch on. In fact, it might be a good way to get acquainted with the beats. Also, each card is numbered if you’re a klutz like me who’s always dropping them.
Next, you have the Save the Cat! Scene Cards. Each card prompts you to fill out the “location,” “moment,” emotional change, conflict, good guy, bad guy, and obstacle of each scene. I think it helps if you’ve read some of the other Save the Cat! Books, so you know what these are really talking about. But still, I think anyone could figure it well enough to use these cards (there are pre-written sample cards to help).
If you don’t want to work inside the beats, these cards are perfect for helping you outline or analyze your scenes. They really work with any story, regardless of structure. Plus, I think it’s a really good idea to think about your protagonist’s emotional changes in every scene.
You can put these cards together to plot a great story. Put all the major plot points on your beat cards. Next, think up scenes for every beat, and fill these scenes out on your scene cards. Boom! You’ve got an awesomely outlined story on handy notecards.
So Are These Cards Worth Getting?
The big question: Are the Save the Cat! Beat Cards useful for writers? Do I recommend them?
Obviously, a few pieces of paper aren’t going to be the difference between a great story and a bad one. They won’t get you published or write a nice review of your book. They’re not make-or-break things here.
But, if you want to learn about Save the Cat! Storytelling techniques, this is a great hands-on item to help you apply those principles to your writing. If you struggle to bring abstract suggestions to your writing, maybe these will be a better fit for you than the books.
If you really fancy something a bit nicer than plain index cards and like the idea of numbered and pre-labeled cards with cute cats on them, these are absolutely for you. If you like using Save the Cat! story beats in your writing, these will be right up your alley.
My final thoughts on the Save the Cat! Story Cards
I loved getting the chance to play with these cards and use them to build my own stories. I’m glad I joined the WOW! blog tour. They’re really such a cute tool to add to my writing arsenal.
Every writer should read about the Save the Cat! Storytelling techniques. And if you like them, the cards are really a nice way to outline your writing with the fifteen story beats as a framework.
They are just fancy note cards, but hey, what writer doesn’t like working with cool stationary? And you don’t have to label or number your own cards now.
By the way, there’s also a new course out teaching the Save the Cat! techniques. If you’d like to learn Snyder’s tips in the form of an online course, you definitely check it out! There are reviews of it on other stops in the WOW! blog tour.
In case you want to see what other writers have to say about the Save the Cat! Story Cards or the new online writing course, I’ve listed the upcoming tour spots below.
If you liked this post, please give a comment, share, or pin. Plus, take a look at the rest of the blog tour!
Here are the remaining stops:
March 23rd @ Karen Brown Tyson
Join Karen as she shares a Save the Cat! guest post discussing the benefits of using a board.
karenbrowntyson.com
March 25th @ WOW’s Editor Blog
You don’t want to miss WOW’s editor-in-chief, Angela Mackintosh’ review of the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet online course.
https://wow-womenonwriting.com/
March 26th @ World of My Imagination
Writer Kate Mahony is a guest reviewer at World of My Imagination and she shares her thoughts about the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet course.
https://worldofmyimagination.com
March 27th @ Joyful Antidotes
Visit Joy’s blog where you can read her review of the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet online course.
https://joyfulantidotes.com/
Mint is a writer and digital marketing pro who lives in coastal Virginia with her family and one lovable pitbull. Her passions include helping people and businesses display their best side through the power of communication, buying her dog costumes he doesn’t want to wear, and talking all day about Batman.
