Two days. Seven Screenwriters. One author of Save the Cat! A corkboard. Some pushpins. Coffee. Pastries.
These are the ingredients for a weekend of intense creativity and this past weekend was no exception. I met with seven really, really on-top-of-their-game writers who are working on scripts that all have “it.” And we rolled up our sleeves and beat those scripts out this weekend. We killed a few “darlings” in the process, and had to bend our brains a little, but we did it.
And we had an amazing time!
I also learned something. The method we are using to get across how to write better screenplays is starting to be used at the studio level. I learned that comments from studio executives are starting to include requests for the “save the cat” moment and the need for better “fun and games” early in Act Two. And the scripts the studios are buying are matching beat for beat what we have been talking about all along: a primal goal, a hero we can root for, and a concept that catches our attention because it has those four pesky things all good loglines have — including irony.
But there is no greater fun than putting these principals into action during a weekend workshop. This is the last one I will be doing in L.A. for a while as I am heading out to New York City, Tucson, and Phoenix with another stop in Maine. Busy month.
(I am also using this method myself and have some surprises of my own this fall with a spec that may be the best of my career.)
But meantime, thanks to all the writers for this weekend’s L.A. workshop. Thanks too to the producing students of UCLA who shared two lecture evenings with me last week. What a great group! I look forward to hearing success stories from all of you.
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Blake, thanks for a great weekend. I had so much fun learning from you and the other writers in the group. Seeing so many great ideas taking shape is exciting from an exec point of view, too. Can’t wait to have these scripts in my weekend read.
Blake’s right! As a reader for MANY studios who have varied tastes, the structure taught in his book and workshops is universally accepted/approved/desired. If you follow it, you will be able to get ‘past the lower level readers’ and on to executives who recognize that you are ‘the real mccoy’!
That’s cool, Blake! Keep on rockin’!
And just so you know…. I recommended your book yet again to another person – this time while down at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
Blake, thanks again for an incredible weekend! Your positive guidance and great insight were instrumental in my pressing forward with my work; the feedback from my classmates was incredible. I’ve refined my 40 beats into something very funny yet compelling, and will begin my pages tomorrow! I could not have accomplished all of this without the amazing intensive and thank you so much for Saving My Script! Write on ~ anne
Great to hear you’re working on another spec, Blake. I know you’re loving teaching– and I’m grateful for all that I’m learning from you– but I was afraid you were getting away from your first love.
Hey, I recently heard from another writer that Save the Cat! is now required reading and/or being used as a textbook in writing classes at two different schools. I’m going to have to hurry up and submit my script before everyone in Hollywood gets their hands on your book! The competition will be unreal. Ha ha.
I can’t wait for the NYC weekend!
Blake-
thank you again for a great workshop. i really enjoyed meeting and working with you and the rest of the group. i look forward to seeing everyone’s idea develop into a sellable screenplay. we formed an online forum for our group – http://www.maniaccat.com
come join us!
I just wanted to day a quick hello. I’ve registered for the course in NYC and I’m looking forward to it. Looking forward to meeting you Blake, Amy and whoever else might be there.