Writing Wednesday - Save The Cat Cards and Course Blog Tour

Ok...true confession time...

I messed up!

I had the date for this blog tour slightly off. By a month! 

So some of this post will be a repeat of what I have already put out there a month ago. Some of it will be additional information.

Hey!

I had the 3rd in mind, just the wrong month!

Anyway...

I am still enjoying the cards and they are helping a lot. I slotted my other index cards in with the Save The Cat! cards and it's working so well for me and my rough draft.

So trying this again...

I am back with Save The Cat! and a review for WOW! Women on Writing and boy, am I excited what I have been working with over the past month.

The first is the Save The Cat! beat and scene cards.

According to the website, the beat cards are used to...

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.

 

 

And the second set of cards are 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.

Each of the beat cards are for each 'beat' of the story. Then the scene cards cover the scenes for each beat. These cards are color coded for the three acts, with an extra color for additional scenes. 

While the beat cards are 3 sets of 15 beats per pack, the scene cards are 40 scene cards for your book. To me, unless you are George R. R. Martin, the 40 scene cards, or as I think of them as chapter cards, are more than enough. 

All the cards are the size of regular index cards, and with only 15 beat cards, there is enough room for 2-3 sentences per card and don't take up too much room on the wall or in my planner. It also makes it easy to take 1 or 2 and stick them in your bag to take with you if you are writing elsewhere. 

I have combined in my existing 'chapter cards' in with the beat cards. My next step is to take my 'chapter cards' and integrate them onto scene cards. Exciting! 

The only 'downside' to the cards is the 'tip' on each card are in a pale grey. That makes them a bit hard to read. However, as you are supposed to write on the card, having the tip in such a pale ink makes it easy to write over it and not have it impact your idea or make you have less space to write. So while I'm not exactly happy with that, I well understand the choice of ink.

NOTE: I had to spend a week house sitting. It was really great to be able to grab my cards to have them with me and not lug my story notebook around with me. Portability is the key! Plus, I can slide the one I am working on in my planner to make sure I know what my priority for the day is.

What I did find really, really helpful was their new video course, hosted by Jennifer Zhang, who was fortunate enough to actually take classes with Blake Snyder.

About the course from the website...

Cracking the Beat Sheet is designed for writers to turn their idea into a movie or novel, this learn-at-your-own-pace online class helps you develop the 15 key “beats” or “plot points” of their story. Strung together, in the right order, these 15 beats make up the blueprint to a successful screenplay or novel.

You'll Turn an Idea into a Story by Learning to...

·       Create a solid beat sheet that will serve as the road map, and the 

        'backbone of your story.
·       Identify and know the key components of your story genre
·       Learn the clichés of your genre so that you can break them like an    

        artist

·       Plot your hero’s journey and “transformation”

·       Troubleshoot your story idea for viability
·       Write a compelling logline or elevator pitch

Find out more details about this course by visiting this link here:

https://www.savethecatcourses.com/courses/cracking-the-beat-sheet

My take on the course?

LOVE IT!

While I have the book and have read it and use it for reference, going through this class online really made things clear to me and I kept getting ideas on how to improve or polish what I am currently working on.

It also allowed to me see I was hitting the 'beats' with where I was going with the story and gave me confidence I am on the right track with the story I want to tell.

The course did focus on screenwriting, it is easy enough to translate the information into book form. I especially liked how contemporary movies where used to illustrate the various beats. This allowed me to really 'see' how that particular beat worked, or needed to work, in my case.

The course also comes along with reading assignments from the book on the chapters which go along with the particular lesson. There are also handouts with information from the lesson just covered, as well as writing assignments based on that particular lesson.

Another great thing about the video lessons is the videos are only 30-45 minutes long. Not long enough that you get distracted and bored watching it. They are very to the point, but not dry. And of course, being a video lesson, you can replay it and stop it to take notes if you want.

Plus at $59, the cost is very reasonable and I feel doable for most 'starving artists'. 

So...

The cards, both the beat and scene cards are out on my desk and being used. I have several pages on notes on my iPad which I refer to as I go through my cards. Between the cards and the course I am feeling energized and excited about working on my novel. 

By 'Cat', I think I've got it!

If you are interested in other's opinions of Save The Cat! and their related products, check out these links...

February 22nd @ The Muffin

What goes better in the morning than a muffin? Grab your coffee and join us today over at our blog, where we launch another blog tour for Save the Cat! We talk about their online course and their story cards, interview the Save the Cat team, and host a special giveaway you don't want to miss.

https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com

February 23rd @ Cathy Stucker's Selling Books

Join Cathy as she reviews the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet Course. Perfect if you want to finally outline your novel!

https://www.sellingbooks.com/

February 23rd @ And So She Thinks

Join Francesca and read her review of the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet Course. You don't want to miss this!

https://andsoshethinks.co.uk/blog/

February 24th @ Chapters Through Life

Visit Danielle's blog as she reviews her experience with the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet Course.

http://chaptersthroughlife.blogspot.co.uk

February 24th @ Margay Leah Justice

Join Margay as she reviews the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet course and the Story Cards.

http://margayleahjustice.blogspot.com/

February 25th @ Author Anthony Avina

Join Anthony as he shares a Save the Cat! guest post about why the title of a story matters.

https://authoranthonyavinablog.com/

February 26th @ Writer Unboxed

Join Therese as she reviews the Save the Cat! writing course Cracking the Beat Sheet. Don't miss it! 

https://writerunboxed.com/

February 27th @ Jessica Samuels

Join Jessica as she shares her insights into the Save the Cat! Story Cards.

https://jessicasamuelsauthor.com/

February 28th @ The Faerie Review

Visit Lily's blog as she reviews the Save the Cat! Story Cards and shares her insights into the Cracking the Beat Sheet course.

https://www.thefaeriereview.com

March 1st @ Michelle Cornish

Join Michelle as she reviews the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet course.

https://www.michellecornish.com/blog

March 1st @ Memoir Writer's Journey

Kathy shares the Save the Cat guest post discussing stress testing dialogue and scene.

https://www.krpooler.com/blog/

March 2nd @ Cathy Stucker's Selling Books

Visit Cathy's blog again as she reviews the Save the Cat! Story Cards! Find out how this item will help you storyboard your novel.

https://www.sellingbooks.com/

March 4th @ Author Anthony Avina

Visit Anthony's blog where you can read his experience with the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet course.

https://authoranthonyavinablog.com/

March 5th @ Quill and Books

Visit Kathryn's blog and read her review of the Save the Cat! Story Cards.

https://quillandbooks.com/

March 7th @ Sioux's Page

Join Sioux as she reviews the Save the Cat! Story Cards and her experience with the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet course.

http://siouxspage.blogspot.com/

March 7th @ Help Me Naomi

Visit Naomi's blog today and you can read her review of the Save the Cat! Story Cards and the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet course.

https://helpmenaomi.com/

March 8th @ World of My Imagination

Guest writer, Stephanie Anne, reviews the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet course and Save the Cat! Story Cards on Nicole's blog World of My Imagination.

https://worldofmyimagination.com/

March 9th @ Cathy Stucker's Selling Books

Visit Cathy's blog again where you can read a guest post from the Save the Cat! team about why structure is a friend, not a formula.

https://www.sellingbooks.com/

March 9th @ Sandy Kirby Quandt

Sandy shares her review of the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet course and the Save the Cat! Story Cards.

https://sandykirbyquandt.com/

March 10th @ Brooke's Reviews and Sweeps

Join Brooke as she reviews the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet course and the Save the Cat! Story Cards.

http://www.brookereviewsnsweeps.com/

March 11th @ Jill Sheet's Blog

Visit Jill's blog today and check out her insights into the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet course and the Save the Cat! Story Cards.

http://jillsheets.blogspot.com/

March 12th @ Finished Pages

Join Renee as she reviews her experience with the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet online course.

http://finishedpages.com/

March 13th @ Writer Unboxed

Visit Therese's blog again as she reviews the Save the Cat! Story Cards. You'll want to check these out if you want to storyboard your novel!

https://writerunboxed.com/

March 14th @ The Margate Bookie

You'll definitely want to catch today's guest post where Save the Cat! discusses the power of the writer's board.

https://margatebookie.com/news/

March 15th @ My Heart is Booked

Join Danielle today where she reviews the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet course and the Save the Cat! story cards.

https://www.myheartisbooked.com/

March 15th @ LM Harley

Visit Laura's blog and check out her review of the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet course.

http://lmharleywriter.com/index.html

March 18th @ Cathy C. Hall Writes

Join Cathy as she shares her thoughts about the Save the Cat! Story Cards.

https://c-c-hall.com/

March 19th @ One Writer's Journey

Visit Sue's blog today as she shares her insights into the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet online course.

https://suebe.wordpress.com/

March 21st @ World of My Imagination

Join Nicole and read her review of the Save the Cat! Story Cards.

https://worldofmyimagination.com

March 22nd @ Mint Miller Writes

Mint Miller treats us to a review of the Save the Cat! Story Cards. Don't miss it!

https://www.mintmillerwrites.com/

March 23rd @ Karen Brown Tyson

Join Karen as shares a Save the Cat guest post discussing the benefits of using a board.

https://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 today where you can read her review of the Save the Cat! Cracking the Beat Sheet online course.

https://joyfulantidotes.com/