(Image: Save the Cat! Beat Sheet Workbook: How Writers Turn Ideas Into Stories).
Photograph by: Hannah Taylor.
*Many thanks to Save the Cat for sending me the Beat Sheet Workbook for the purpose of this review. All views are my own.*
Save the Cat! needs no introduction but here is one anyway. Every Screenwriter and Filmmaker knows its name and the infamous ‘saving the cat’ logo. Save the Cat! was first released in 2005 by Screenwriter Blake Snyder with its booming popularity in the industry and now heralded as one of the most popular screenwriting books, the franchise has grown ever since and there are no plans of stopping.
As a big fan of the Save the Cat! brand, I’m not biased, just excited for each new release – and the newest Workbook adds to this feeling. If you’re like me, back when Save the Cat! (STC!) offered their Black Friday deals on some of their ebooks back in November, you grabbed them in no time. I now have some of the titles – STC! Strikes Back, STC! Blake Blogs and STC! Goes to the Indies on Kindle to read whenever and wherever. These are also great additions to read alongside the beloved original STC! book.
One of my favourite Screenwriting books is STC! Writes for TV by Screenwriter Jamie Nash. (Quite a difficult book to get in the UK, mainly because it sells out all the time but it is definitely worth the purchase). This new Beat Sheet Workbook is also written by Jamie Nash. If you were lucky enough to see Jamie talking through the Workbook live, like me you will already have some knowledge on what to expect. You can always catch up on the webinar via Save the Cat’s Official Youtube Channel and see Jamie talking through the Beat Sheet Workbook.
The front cover displays a clever and innovative twist on the classic Save the Cat! logo with a sketchbook-type design. This serves to showcase its ‘Workbook version’ of the original STC! book. It is also positive to note the book is printed in the same cover and material as the original Blake Snyder release (but this time in a much bigger size) to act as a perfect partnering companion. As the title suggests, this Workbook focuses on beating out the STC! 15 beats whilst also targeting ‘How Writers Turn Ideas Into Stories.’
‘The Holy Trinity’ of Screenwriting Books
(Image: L-R: STC! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need (2005), STC! Beat Sheet Workbook (2023) and STC! Writes for TV (2021). Photograph by: Hannah Taylor.
The Save the Cat! Series, now a nine-book collection – Blake Synder (5), Jessica Brody (2) and Jamie Nash (2), takes a completely different style and approach with its latest Beat Sheet Workbook edition. The first and only Workbook in the collection – it demands an active creativity in its reader/writer. Prepare to take on two roles with this Workbook experience as a reader and writer. Make sure to read along, write ideas and let the activities guide you through the process of idea generation and working the story through the 15 STC! Beat Sheet points. Read as you write.
In a recent review on the Workbook, one comment stated it was filled with lots of questions and information you can find in the other STC! books. But the reader is really missing the point of this Workbook. Expect to be an active participant. Expect to work through ideas. Expect to be creative and face the challenge of writing.
Afterall, it is not a Screenwriting book but a Screenwriting Workbook. If the reader turns up unwilling to journal their thoughts and ideas, then they are not a Screenwriter, they are just a reader. It’s easy to get stuck in the cycle of just reading Screenwriting books but it is the doing that counts. It is about getting the right balance between being an active reader and an active writer.
The Beat Sheet Workbook expects the reader already has an accumulated knowledge behind the STC! Beat sheet from the original Blake Snyder book. Expect to work through the activities – starting from journaling about yourself to capturing a variety of ideas in different genres and tones to then deciding on one idea. Then expect to work through the 15 STC! Beats, following one of the STC! Stories (Buddy Love Story etc.)
The Workbook Sections
The Workbook’s introductory activities ask the writer to ‘Unlock Your Story.’ This involves drawing fan art, doodling and providing space to tell your story. This is an important stage, if not the most important as it is a place for unlocking creativity because it asks the writer ‘who they are?’ before delving into idea generation.
This concept of journaling before beginning the idea process allows for the writer to provide their personal story and serves as a reminder to include part of themselves in their story ideas. It’s about exploring what makes the stories personal to the writer and why they are the right person and the only storyteller that can tell the story.
It then asks the reader/writer to ‘rip these pages out’ and ‘tear them to shreds.’ This is fine for those who find ripping pages out of books acceptable but this was not for me. Which is also fine because it means these pages can be revisited at any time. (No matter how painful the ‘sad memories’ pages can be to re-read). But it is completely up to the reader/writer and either way is suitable depending on their views, and how they wish to use the pages.
Story Ideas
I found the ‘Story Ideas’ section explored the most creative activities in the Workbook. In fact, the activities are so creative that after writing a few ideas for the ‘Horrible Ideas List’, the more ideas added to the list, the more they turned into good ideas (by accident) that I could actually use.
My favourite activity from the Workbook was the ‘Faves with a Twist’ task, which explored the idea of turning your favourite films into a different genre. This saw me turning Jeepers Creepers into a Comedy, 2 Broke Girls into a Horror movie and Peter Pan: Live-action into a story of ‘10 Years Later’, which is an ironic twist on the Peter Pan story for a boy ‘who never grows up.’ This was a great task in delving into different genres and even forces the writer to explore genres they might not necessarily be attracted to and pushes their creative boundaries and limitations. It also involves cutting and pasting into a table but of course it is not a necessity and involves re-writing the film titles in the table instead.
The ‘More Franken-stories’ was also a great task. This involves combining films together or changing film titles and writing story descriptions for these ‘new’ films. This provides both weird and quirky story results and is something you might not have otherwise explored. The rest of the section travels into more idea possibilities, ranging from story starter games to brainstorming the world of the story.
The Save the Cat! Beat Sheet Workbook saw me filling in 100+ pages of creative fun!
(Image: Journaling Ideas from a List of Character Traits)
Photograph by: Hannah Taylor.
Plot and Characters
The next section explores answering story questions based on the final idea chosen. This then provides a very helpful table to say which section your story focuses on, whether that be the Rites of Passage story or the Monster in the House story. The chapter then breaks down pointers to help guide the idea into the right story and provides reminders of what the specific story should include.
Choose Your Own Writer Adventure
This chapter helps the writer understand the strength of their story and its elements from the characters and the plot to themes and obstacles. It also provides popular cinematic examples to help figure out which hero is best suited to the story.
Let’s Thicken That Plot
A section aimed at exploring the story DNA from the hero and their goal to their obstacles and what is at stake. It then delves into how to develop the story catalyst to focus more on the business of Screenwriting, ranging from the elements that create the Elevator Pitch to the tone the writer wishes to convey in their story.
Develop Your Characters
This subject is a really creative exploration on character development. Activities range from star castings, to the hero traits and their shadows and flaws to the hero’s wants and needs. The rest of the chapter explores creating more character profiles, drawing a movie poster and much more…
The Save the Cat! Beat Sheet
The last section recaps the important 15 STC! beats and details a step-by-step guide on how to develop the story through each beat. At the end, each story beat has its own dedicated page to completely ‘beat out’ the full story.
It is interesting to note how Save the Cat’s Workbook version differs from the other Screenwriting Workbooks available.
(Image: L-R: Syd Field’s The Screenwriter’s Workbook and Save the Cat! Beat Sheet Workbook by Jamie Nash.) Photograph by: Hannah Taylor.
Save the Cat’s Beat Sheet Workbook takes a very different approach to Syd Field’s The Screenwriter’s Workbook. One major difference is how Syd Field’s Workbook reads more like an instructional guide. Field discusses different aspects of Screenwriting to focus on with activities to complete at the end of every chapter. This workbook consists of a list of questions for the reader to then work through in their own separate notebook. There is not enough space and nor does it provide any to freely doodle or write any thoughts, ideas or suggestions.
In comparison to STC! Jamie Nash guides the reader through the process of idea creation and generation. There is no reading through a chapter and waiting for the exercise. Here, there is enough room to write thoughts and ideas. It provides space for creativity. In many places the exercises made me want to continue and it is easy to get carried away within the Workbook’s creative space.
The two Workbooks could not be more different. In one way, Syd Field’s Workbook provides a jumping off point, from reading his knowledge and wisdom on a particular area or topic of screenwriting, to then handing the reins over to the reader. In another way, Save the Cat’s Workbook does not stop allowing the reader to be creative. There is a much bigger focus on the writer and their ideas. These are two very different approaches to a Workbook style publication.
Syd Field’s Workbook is more prescriptive in its approach, reading more like a book with additional questions to spark discussions and further ideas. Yet STC! Workbook works through the ideas with the reader/writer in an interactive way. The reader becomes an active participant in generating ideas and it provides creative freedom to doodle, write and draw thoughts, ideas or anything that comes to mind when working through the process.
I prefer the ‘journalistic’ style of STC! Workbook. It keeps the engine of the creative brain running and at no point throughout the process did I feel uncreative, uninspired or feel like putting the pen down. The Workbook can undoubtedly suit any writer no matter their writing style or preference. There is enough room to adapt the exercises to how the writer works or how they wish to tell their stories. Stories are written in plural because with this Workbook the writer should expect to generate multiple story ideas.
One thing I would say is perhaps missing from the STC! Workbook is how the word ‘Journal’ is not present across the cover, inside the book or within its marketing. Although marketed as simply a ‘Workbook’ (and it has also been described as an interactive Workbook), it offers much more. It works better as a ‘Journal Workbook’. In the introductory stages, it explores the writer’s inner feelings – journaling and exploring what makes them motivated and their interests to what infuriates them. This is an important step because it reminds the writer why they write and delves into the real reasons behind their story motivations.
Save the Cat’s Workbook is not a generic Screenwriting Workbook in the sense it offers a unique approach for the writer to journal and work through their ideas. Many activities in the Workbook provide quirky outcomes just like my story of turning Jeepers Creepers into a Comedy – something I would never think about writing otherwise. It helps form multiple ideas and guides the reader/writer into exploring different genres and serves as a great reminder to go beyond the creative limits. The more effort you put into the tasks, the more you will get out of this book.
The Workbook offers something new and different to the already inundated market of Screenwriting books. It is about generating ideas as much as it is about having fun with the process. If you are a writer like me and you cannot stop writing, then having a space to journal all the thoughts and ideas in one place, may help organise your screenwriting brain.
(Image: The three best: L-R: Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder, Save the Cat! Beat Sheet Workbook by Jamie Nash and Save the Cat! Writes For TV by Jamie Nash).
Photograph by: Hannah Taylor.
Check Out More From Save the Cat!
Save the Cat! Beat Sheet Workbook is released 25th January 2023 in the UK.
Pre-order now from Amazon and Waterstones.
Check out examples of Beat Sheet analyses on the STC! Blog.
Also available to purchase is STC! Software, Books, Story Cards, Classes and more here.
Follow STC! On Instagram and YouTube and Jamie Nash on Twitter.
Hannah is an English graduate and freelance writer. She enjoys writing short stories, fiction, screenplays, and blog posts. Her favourite category of films is the Horror genre, and you’ll always find her reading.
