Life is easy for aspiring screenwriters. Gone are the days of hammering out your script on a typewriter; thanks to technology. Yet, I can't conceive of how difficult it must've been for scribes to craft a great screenplay without the benefit of Blake Snyder's Save The Cat book and software. But somehow, David S. Ward wrote some pretty good scripts like The Sting, Sleepless in Seattle, Major League and The Mask of Zorro without Save the Cat or beat sheets, let alone other slick script formatting software.
If you're like me and have never used STC, you can check out this article about how the Kitty analyzes the academy award-winning film The Sting. It's actually pretty interesting.
What say you? Do you agree with how STC evaluates the film using their methodology? Has Save The Cat provide you with Clarity and a sense of direction?
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Yes. I've used STC beat sheet as a guide. It does help me get through this crap people call screenwriting.
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Kay: I'd say that's good advice.
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Kay Luke At Guitar Center, I heard one instructor tell his students, "There is no Talent plug-in; you have to earn it." Do it everyday for a couple decades, and ya finally do get the hang of it someday.
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There is so much to worry about when undertaking a creative venture.
A formula, beat sheet, whatever removes a point of concern, one less thing to worry about.
I on the other hand encourage people to worry and settle those nerves with practice and faith in their own skill.
I wouldn’t know how to save a cat if you paid me.
I find STC good when brainstorming to see if it makes sense. It's got some great nugget, i.e. "pope in the pool," "double mumbo jumbo," etc. Like all books/advice, etc it's about taking what resonates and ignoring the rest.