Save the Cat Writes for TV Book Review

I've been a fan of the Save the Cat screenwriting method ever since reading Blake Snyder's original Save the Cat book several years ago. Though many people claim that his method is formulaic, I've always found it to be a user-friendly tool to help me hone my story ideas into something coherent, and it's how I structured the first screenplay I ever wrote. Since reading Save the Cat, I've read every other addition to the Save the Cat series, including Save the Cat Writes a Novel, a helpful guide for applying Blake Snyder's ideas to writing a book instead of a screenplay.

In recent years, television series have become a powerful way of telling a longform story that is proving to stand in competition to full-length feature films. Marvel's WandaVision is one example, as well as the Star Wars television series The Mandalorian. Because episodic television allows you to dive deeper into a story world than a two-hour film, many writers are interested in writing for television.

Save the Cat Writes for TV is the latest edition of the Save the Cat series that focuses specifically on writing longform television series using Blake Snyder's beat sheet method to plot out both episodes, such as the all-important proof-of-concept pilot episode, and multi-episode story arcs and full television seasons. Save the Cat Writes for TV is Jamie Nash, a screenwriter and instructor who has used the methods he outlines in the book to create television stories. 

With plenty of examples, which is a characteristic of all he Save the Cat books, Nash shows how the Save the Cat method can be seen in some of the most recent successful television series. He also gives advice on how writers can pursue a career in television by using the method to prove they can write the kinds of stories viewers are looking for.

Save the Cat Writes for TV is another great addition to the Save the Cat methodology and worth diving into if you want to write for television.