What I Learned from a 10-Hour Save The Cat! Novel Writing Intensive

It has always been a dream of mine to become a novelist.

But it seemed like almost every time I sit down to write, I always end up getting stuck and struggling to pull through till the end. I mean, I had every intention of being dedicated and focused, but that feeling of being "stuck" would always rear its ugly head. This cycle led me to enroll in a ten-hour Save The Cat! novel writing intensive, where I learned the secrets to writing a novel that resonates with readers.

In this blog post, I'll be sharing my experience and the valuable learnings I acquired over the course.

The One Liner

The most significant lesson that I learned during the intensive was the importance of nailing the pitch and logline of your novel.

At first, I did not understand the difference. Still, through the training, I understood that the pitch is a brief summary of your story, while a logline is a sentence that lays out the plot of your book. To ensure each one entices readers, you must be crisp, concise, and compelling.

To lock down your logline, we used the Save the Cat! mini-story template, which determined the direction and plot of our story. The template gives a structure that will help you get out of any logline jam without giving too much or too little information about the story.

Stick To The Beats

Another significant lesson was the 15 key beats found in any story that makes it resonate with readers.

These beats are universal and tap into what's primal in humans. Knowing and integrating these key beats will help increase your novel's ability to connect emotionally with readers. Plus, it will help you develop a powerful plot and structure for your novel.

All these are essential to writing a captivating book that readers won't put down until they finish reading it.

The Magic Spot

The Magical Midpoint is the secret behind every story's power, and this is the point where things change.

Through this, we learned the importance of crafting a scene that fundamentally changes the hero and reveals the core message of your story. It was fascinating to see how the midpoint sets the character on the right course for the remainder of the story.

A Picture Is Worth 1,000 of These

I learned that the Opening Image and the Final Image are your way to “double-check the math” of a hero's transformation.

These two images play a significant part in the book's structure, and to create a vital opening, you must use an image that directs the story towards the right course, while the final one hints at a possible sequel in the future.

The Pitch

We also practiced our pitch during the intensive, honing our tone of voice to be informative, attention-grabbing, and conversational.

This was a vital lesson, as a pitch is your chance to deliver a concise and compelling message to your readers without giving too much about the story. A good pitch captures the essence of the novel and the reader's attention. Also, a good pitch will set the tone of your story and make it stand out among other novels in its genre.

By the end of this intensive, I now had a better understanding of how to write a well-crafted novel that resonates with readers. I'm more confident about my craft as a novelist or even as a ghostwriter, and I'm looking forward to crafting stories that pique the interest of readers and make them come back for more.

The final word

Enrolling in a Save The Cat! novel writing intensive was one of the most beneficial experiences of my career as a writer.

Through the valuable lessons and skills acquired, I now feel more confident in my writing abilities and equipped with the knowledge to attract and retain readers to my story. The course provided me with a roadmap to achieve my dream, and I would highly recommend it to any new writer or novelist looking to hone their craft.

Thank you for reading my experience with the Save The Cat! novel writing intensive, and I hope it helps you write stories that stay in your reader's hearts forever.

Good luck!

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