save-the-cat

name	save-the-cat
description	Screenwriting assistant using Blake Snyder's Save the Cat! methodology. Helps with high-concept ideas, loglines, hero design, the 15-beat Beat Sheet (BS2), the Board, story genres, and diagnostics. Use when writing screenplays, developing movie structure, creating beat sheets, crafting loglines, building a board, or analyzing script structure.

Attribution: This skill provides original reference guides inspired by Blake Snyder's Save the Cat! methodology. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Blake Snyder Enterprises. For the complete methodology, please refer to the original Save the Cat! books. All content in these files is an independent summary intended for educational use.

Save the Cat! Screenwriting Assistant

A comprehensive screenwriting tool based on Blake Snyder's "Save the Cat!" methodology - the industry-standard approach to crafting commercial, audience-pleasing screenplays.

Quick Reference

The Blake Snyder Beat Sheet (BS2)

The 15 beats for a 110-page screenplay:

Beat	Page	Purpose
Opening Image	1	"Before" snapshot, opposite of final image
Theme Stated	5	Someone states the theme; hero doesn't get it yet
Set-Up	1-10	Introduce characters, show "Six Things That Need Fixing"
Catalyst	12	Life-changing incident that kicks off the story
Debate	12-25	"Should I go? Dare I go?" - last chance to back out
Break into Two	25	Hero CHOOSES to enter the upside-down world
B Story	30	Usually love story; carries the theme
Fun and Games	30-55	Promise of the premise; trailer moments
Midpoint	55	False victory or false defeat; stakes raised
Bad Guys Close In	55-75	External/internal forces tighten grip
All Is Lost	75	Opposite of midpoint; "whiff of death"
Dark Night of the Soul	75-85	Beaten and knows it; darkness before dawn
Break into Three	85	A + B stories merge; solution emerges
Finale	85-110	Apply lessons; dispatch bad guys; new world
Final Image	110	"After" snapshot; proof of change

For detailed beat descriptions and examples: See references/beat-sheet.md

The 10 Snyder Genres

Every movie fits one of these structural categories:

1. Monster in the House - Jaws, Alien (monster + confined space + sin)
2. Golden Fleece - Star Wars, Wizard of Oz (road journey, internal growth)
3. Out of the Bottle - Liar Liar, Groundhog Day (wish/curse, magic lesson)
4. Dude with a Problem - Die Hard, Titanic (ordinary person, extraordinary situation)
5. Rites of Passage - Ordinary People (life transitions, surrender to accept)
6. Buddy Love - Rain Man, all romcoms (two halves of a whole)
7. Whydunit - Chinatown, JFK (dark discovery about humanity)
8. The Fool Triumphant - Forrest Gump, Being There (underdog vs establishment)
9. Institutionalized - The Godfather, MAS*H (group dynamics, who's crazier?)
10. Superhero - Batman, Gladiator (extraordinary person, ordinary world)

For genre rules and requirements: See references/genres.md

Logline Formula

A winning logline has four elements:

1. Irony - emotionally intriguing hook
2. Compelling mental picture - whole movie blooms in mind
3. Audience and cost - clear tone and scope
4. Killer title - says what it is cleverly

For complete logline framework: See references/logline.md

High-Concept "What Is It?"

The question: Can you pitch the movie in one irresistible sentence that a stranger instantly "gets"?

For high-concept and test-pitching: See references/high-concept.md
For idea-generation games: See references/idea-games.md

Hero Design ("It's About a Guy Who...")

Design the hero to serve the idea, maximize the journey, and keep casting broad (write for archetype, not a single star).

For hero design & archetypes: See references/hero.md

The Board (40 Card Method)

See the movie before you write it. Use 40 scene cards across 4 rows to troubleshoot structure and weave storylines.

For Board setup and usage: See references/board.md

Workflows

Writing a New Screenplay

Copy this checklist:

• Nail a high-concept "What is it?" and test-pitch it out loud
• Develop logline with all four elements (irony, picture, audience, title)
• Tune the hero to the idea (longest journey, primal goal, archetype fit)
• Identify which of the 10 genres your story fits
• Study genre requirements and ensure your concept meets them
• Create the Beat Sheet - fill in all 15 beats with page targets
• Identify the "Six Things That Need Fixing" for Set-Up
• Ensure Opening Image and Final Image are opposites
• Verify Midpoint and All Is Lost are opposites (up/down)
• Check that hero CHOOSES Break into Two (not lured or tricked)
• Confirm "whiff of death" at All Is Lost
• Build The Board: 40 scene cards with +/- and >< on each
• Color-code A/B stories to verify weaving and focus

Diagnosing a Problematic Script

Copy this checklist:

• Run the Hero Leads Test (active? seeks clues? never asks questions?)
• Check for Talking the Plot (characters serving writer, not themselves)
• Test the bad guy (bad enough? matched with hero? has edge?)
• Verify Turn, Turn, Turn (plot spins and intensifies?)
• Check Emotional Color Wheel (all emotions represented?)
• Run "Hi How Are You" dialogue test (unique voices?)
• Confirm hero's journey starts far back enough
• Verify all characters have "limp and eyepatch" (memorable traits)
• Test for primal motivations (survival, sex, protection, fear of death)
• Check for Too Much Marzipan (overstuffed concept / Black Vet)

For detailed diagnostics: See references/diagnostics.md

Immutable Laws of Screenplay Physics

• Save the Cat - Hero must do something likeable when we meet them
• The Pope in the Pool - Bury exposition with visual interest
• Double Mumbo Jumbo - Only ONE piece of magic per movie
• Laying Pipe - Max 25 pages of setup before the hook
• Too Much Marzipan / Black Vet - Don't cram multiple clever hooks into one concept
• Watch Out for That Glacier! - Danger must be PRESENT danger
• The Covenant of the Arc - Everyone changes except bad guys
• Keep the Press Out - Media breaks the intimate reality

Key Principles

• "Stasis equals death" - Things must change
• "Give me the same thing... only different"
• "Primal, primal, primal!" - Ground everything in survival, sex, protection, fear of death
• The hero cannot be lured or tricked into Act Two - must choose
• It's never as good as it seems at Midpoint, never as bad at All Is Lost
• Simple is better - one concept at a time
• Every scene needs emotional change (+/-) and conflict (><)