> [!cite]- Metadata > 2025-05-26 15:06 > Status: #book > Tags: [[5 - Atlas/Tags/Writing]] [[Fiction]] `Read Time: 3m 8s` > Novelist Jessica Brody presents a comprehensive story-structure guide for novelists that applies the famed Save the Cat! screenwriting methodology to the world of novel writing. Revealing the 15 “beats” (plot points) that comprise a successful story–from the opening image to the finale–this book lays out the Ten Story Genres (Monster in the House; Whydunit; Dude with a Problem) alongside quirky, original insights (Save the Cat; Shard of Glass) to help novelists craft a plot that will captivate–and a novel that will sell. 3 The word "plot" on its own is pretty useless. It's just a series of events that happen in a story. But structure is the order in which those events happen and, maybe even more importantly, the timing of when they happen. Then you add a character who needs to change and does change by the end, and presto! You've got a story worth telling. Plot, Structure, and character transformation. Or what I like to call the "Holy Trinity of Story" 5 It's not a formula, it's a code. 7 Why on earth is it called "Save the Cat!" The answer dates back to when Blake Snyder included several cleverly titles tips on how to avoid common pitfalls of storytelling. "Save the cat!" is one of these tips. If your main character starts off somewhat unlikeable, then, in the early pages of your story, they should save a cat (yes, like from a tree or a burning building or a shelter) or do something comparable that immediately makes the reader root for them, regardless of their original likability. 9 The relationship between character and plot is an essential one. From here on I will be referring to the main character as the hero of your story. Because doesn't that just sound better? How do you create a hero who is interesting, memorable, and relatable, a hero whom readers want to read about? A hero worthy of an entire novel written about them? Easy! 10 You simply give them (the hero) 1. A Problem (or flaw that needs fixing) 2. A Want (or goal that the hero is pursuing) 3. A Need (or life lesson to be learned) Here's a little secret. Reader's don't like reading about perfect hero's who have all their shit together. You'll find a flawed hero - a hero with problems - in every great novel ever told. Here's a great tip for writing flawed heroes: Don't let the problem stay contained to just one area of your hero's life. Let the problem(s) manifest and spread and infect! Your hero's problem(s) should be affecting their entire world: their work, their home life, and their relationships. 11 When someone starts reading your novel, they should be thinking something along the lines of, Whoa, what a mess this person's life is! That's how you know you've done your job. If your hero's life isn't flawed, what's the point of the novel? Why do we care? We turn to story to watch characters fix their problems, better their lives, improve upon their flaws. Great novels take deeply imperfect characters and make them a little less imperfect. But it's not enough for your hero just to have flaws; your hero also has to want something (badly) and be proactively trying to get it. Your hero knows they've got problems. (Or maybe they don't know, and that's one of their problems!) Now, the question is: what does your hero *think* will better their life? (Take note of the emphasis on the word "*think*" - we'll be coming back to that later. Whatever the answer is - a better job, more money, to be more popular in school, gain their father's approval, solve a big murder case, and so on - that is your hero's goal! That is what they will be actively striving to achieve throughout the novel (or at least in the beginning). 12 So ask yourself, What does my character want in life? It shouldn't be easy for your character to get what they want. It should be hard. They should have to work for it. Almost every want or goal has an equal and opposite force holding the hero back from achieving it. The force is often presented as a "conflict" or "nemesis". What is standing in the hero's way? It's important to note two things about wants (or goals). First, they *can* change as the novel goes on. And they often do. --- ### **References**