Blake Snyder: The Man Behind the Beat Sheet
Blake Snyder, author of Save the Cat!®, was a screenwriter, teacher, and lecturer who helped numerous screenwriters and novelists around the world create stories that resonate.
Recommended Book
“It’s he-e-e-re”… the most heart-pounding, jump-out-of-your-seat, scream-worthy book in the Save the Cat! series.
Veteran horror screenwriter and novelist Jamie Nash leads us into the shadows of Blake Snyder’s legendary Monster in the House genre—and sheds light over the secrets to crafting truly terrifying tales.
Save the Cat! Writes Horror is your guide to writing and delivering blood-chilling films and novels using the world’s most successful storytelling method, including:
- A deep dive into horror’s core ingredients—Monster, House, and Sin—with subtypes, examples, and tools to help you design your own diabolical tale
- The mad science of turning Save the Cat!’s 15 beats into a horror story that builds tension, sharpens scares, and leaves your audience squirming
- How to balance Scares, Gross-outs, and Dread to torment your audience flawlessly
- Why knowing your horror’s heartbeat—Slow Burn vs. Relentless—changes everything
- How to use the Dread-O-Meter to engineer spine-tingling scenes with precision
- How to build memorable horror characters—from first-to-die victims to final girls and guys—while exploring how their flaws, choices, and arcs mirror deeper fears and social truths
- Plus: real case studies, scarecraft tools, career advice, and a comprehensive analysis of what makes the genre tick (and bleed)
Whether you’re a screenwriter, novelist, or seasoned horrorhound, Save the Cat! Writes Horror will help you write the kind of story that lingers long after the lights go out.
In the long-awaited sequel to his surprise bestseller, Save the Cat!, author and screenwriter Blake Snyder returns to form in a fast-paced follow-up that proves why his is the most talked-about approach to screenwriting in years.
In the perfect companion piece to his first book, Snyder delivers even more insider’s information gleaned from a 20-year track record as “one of Hollywood’s most successful spec screenwriters,” giving you the clues to write your movie.
Designed for screenwriters, novelists, and movie fans, this book gives readers the key breakdowns of the 50 most instructional movies from the past 30 years. From M*A*S*H to Crash, from Alien to Saw, from 10 to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Snyder reveals how screenwriters who came before you tackled the same challenges you are facing with the film you want to write — or the one you are currently working on.
In his 20-year career as a screenwriter and producer, Blake Snyder sold dozens of scripts, including co-writing Blank Check, which became a hit for Disney, and Nuclear Family for Steven Spielberg—both million-dollar sales. Named “one of Hollywood’s most successful spec screenwriters,” Blake sold his last screenplay in 2009, the year he passed away.
His book, Save the Cat!® The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need, was published in May, 2005, and has been #1 in Amazon’s Screenwriting category for over 20 years.
The book prompted “standing room only” appearances by Blake in New York, London, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Vancouver, Toronto, Barcelona, and Beijing—along with numerous sold-out workshops in Los Angeles.
Blake’s first book was not the “last book on screenwriting you’ll ever need,” as the eagerly awaited sequel, Save the Cat!® Goes to the Movies: The Screenwriter’s Guide to Every Story Ever Told, was published in October, 2007.
Blake’s third book, Save the Cat! Strikes Back: More Trouble for Screenwriters to Get Into… And Out Of, was published in November, 2009.
There are now 10 Save the Cat! books, along with other Save the Cat! products, including the latest version of the software Blake introduced—and the workshops Blake started continue today.
Blake taught at Chapman, UCLA, Vanderbilt, and the Beijing Film Academy. His books are the basis of screenwriting classes at many major universities around the world.
Blake’s method has become the “secret weapon” of many development executives, managers, and producers for its precise, easy, and honest appraisal of what it takes to write and develop stories that resonate.
Blake was a member of the Writers Guild of America, west for over 20 years
Blake Snyder passed away suddenly on August 4, 2009, but he lives on in his films and his books, in the advice that will never grow old, with the spirit that will continue to thrive and inspire. His story resonates with all who loved him, and your stories will resonate thanks to his love for you.
How to Train Your Dragon (DreamWorks, 2010), which Blake consulted on, was dedicated to Blake.
Interview with Blake Snyder
Gallery
Blake teaching at the Beijing Film Academy
Blake at his London Workshop
Blake at home, writing "Save the Cat! Strikes Back"
Blake introducing his second book, Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies at Barnes & Noble in Los Angeles
Blake's light-bulb moment
Blake with his Writers Group: (L to R) Ben Frahm, Mike Goldberg, Blake, Dean DeBlois, and Jeremy Garelick
Blake's author's photo from his third book, Save the Cat! Strikes Back
Blake the Pigeon, a tip of the hat from Disney Animation in the film Bolt
Blake on the Great Wall of China
Blake with screenwriter Ben Frahm on the WGA picket line
Best of Blake Snyder
Recommended books
“It’s he-e-e-re”… the most heart-pounding, jump-out-of-your-seat, scream-worthy book in the Save the Cat! series.
Veteran horror screenwriter and novelist Jamie Nash leads us into the shadows of Blake Snyder’s legendary Monster in the House genre—and sheds light over the secrets to crafting truly terrifying tales.
Save the Cat! Writes Horror is your guide to writing and delivering blood-chilling films and novels using the world’s most successful storytelling method, including:
- A deep dive into horror’s core ingredients—Monster, House, and Sin—with subtypes, examples, and tools to help you design your own diabolical tale
- The mad science of turning Save the Cat!’s 15 beats into a horror story that builds tension, sharpens scares, and leaves your audience squirming
- How to balance Scares, Gross-outs, and Dread to torment your audience flawlessly
- Why knowing your horror’s heartbeat—Slow Burn vs. Relentless—changes everything
- How to use the Dread-O-Meter to engineer spine-tingling scenes with precision
- How to build memorable horror characters—from first-to-die victims to final girls and guys—while exploring how their flaws, choices, and arcs mirror deeper fears and social truths
- Plus: real case studies, scarecraft tools, career advice, and a comprehensive analysis of what makes the genre tick (and bleed)
Whether you’re a screenwriter, novelist, or seasoned horrorhound, Save the Cat! Writes Horror will help you write the kind of story that lingers long after the lights go out.
In the long-awaited sequel to his surprise bestseller, Save the Cat!, author and screenwriter Blake Snyder returns to form in a fast-paced follow-up that proves why his is the most talked-about approach to screenwriting in years.
In the perfect companion piece to his first book, Snyder delivers even more insider’s information gleaned from a 20-year track record as “one of Hollywood’s most successful spec screenwriters,” giving you the clues to write your movie.
Designed for screenwriters, novelists, and movie fans, this book gives readers the key breakdowns of the 50 most instructional movies from the past 30 years. From M*A*S*H to Crash, from Alien to Saw, from 10 to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Snyder reveals how screenwriters who came before you tackled the same challenges you are facing with the film you want to write — or the one you are currently working on.
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