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Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: Chapter 1 Summary – The Beat That Starts It All

/ Justin Turpen / Leave a comment

The first chapter of Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody introduces the core idea that every successful story follows a familiar structure. This structure is called the “Save the Cat!” method. It was first used in Hollywood screenwriting but works just as well for writing novels.

Brody explains that great stories are built on beats. These are key moments that move the plot forward and stir emotion in the reader. The chapter introduces the “beat sheet,” a 15-step guide that helps shape a story from the beginning to the end. These beats are not a strict formula. They reflect the way people experience change and growth in stories.

The Beats

  1. Opening Image
    • A snapshot of the hero’s world before the story begins. It shows what’s missing or broken.
  2. Theme Stated
    • A hint or clue about the story’s deeper message. Often spoken by a side character.
  3. Set-Up
    • Introduces the main character, their world, and the stakes. The hero’s flaw or problem is clear.
  4. Catalyst
    • The moment that changes everything. It kicks the story into motion.
  5. Debate
    • The hero doubts, resists, or hesitates. They struggle with what to do next.
  6. Break into Two
    • The hero makes a choice and enters a new world or situation. The story truly begins.
  7. B Story
    • A subplot begins, often involving a new character who helps teach the theme.
  8. Fun and Games
    • The promise of the premise. The hero explores the new world. This is where the hook plays out.
  9. Midpoint
    • A major shift. Either a victory or defeat, but with higher stakes. Everything changes.
  10. Bad Guys Close In
    • Things get worse. Enemies tighten their grip. Doubts and problems multiply.
  11. All Is Lost
    • The worst moment. The hero hits rock bottom. A symbolic “death.”
  12. Dark Night of the Soul
    • The hero reflects. They face their inner flaw. The truth sinks in.
  13. Break into Three
    • A solution is found. The hero decides to act. A plan is set in motion.
  14. Finale
    • The climax. The hero faces the final challenge and uses what they’ve learned. Change is clear.
  15. Final Image
    • A mirror of the opening. It shows the transformation and new world of the hero.

The name “Save the Cat!” comes from an old screenwriting trick. If you want the audience to like your hero, show them doing something good early on, like saving a cat. Brody uses this to explain a bigger truth. The heart of every story is change. Characters face conflict and come out transformed. This to me, was the most compelling point in the chapter and an area I’m trying to improve upon.

Writing to the beats might seem like cheating and may not be for all writers. For a planner like me they’ve been a useful guide to including the right amount of change into my characters arcs. With all writing guides, take it all with a grain of salt and do what works best for you. There’s more than one way to skin a cat.

Why You Should Read Storm Front: A Gritty Start to The Dresden Files

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I just finished Storm Front, the first book in The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. I’d give it four out of five stars. It’s not perfect, but it hits hard where it counts.

This book pulls you into a world where magic hides in plain sight. The setting is Chicago, but darker. More haunted. Harry Dresden, the wizard-detective at the center, is broke, stubborn, and funny in a dry kind of way. You want to root for him, even when he’s in over his head.

The plot moves fast. Dead bodies show up. Strange magic’s involved. The deeper Harry digs, the worse things get. But he doesn’t stop. That’s what makes him great. He’s not the smartest guy in the room, but he’s the one who stays when things get ugly.

Butcher’s writing is lean. No wasted words. The magic system is relatively clear, with rules and weight. The world feels real. Like maybe, if you squint, you’d spot a demon down a dark alley.

It’s not flawless. Some lines try too hard. A few characters feel thin. But for a first book? It punches above its weight.

If you like gritty urban fantasy with a noir edge, Storm Front is worth your time. I’m already eyeing book two.

Adrift Update #2

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Word Count: 8913

This second draft is starting to shape up. For context, my first draft was 5,814 words in total and was written in first person from the perspective of my main character. I’d never really tried to write a draft in first person and my lack of experience in it was apparent in review. I’ve now returned to a third-person limited viewpoint and am making ample progress toward finishing the draft.

I’m surprised how, even with a first draft, how much about the story has changed. Some conversations and scenes are not recognizable from the first to the second. A few parts of the first draft simply-put, did not work, and I’ve removed or replaced them since. Do this too many times and you’ve got a whole different story. Adding two new characters also contributes to this.

One of my hopes is that the reader will be able to get lost in the story – like I do when I write it. To me this is a usually a result of great characters, conflict, and beautiful prose. As I comb through what I’ve already written in the second draft, I’ve been editing sentence structure and word choice to uplift my writing. The end result, hopefully, being a polished and complete story. I’m projecting that the ending word count will hit somewhere between 15k and 17k words. This throws it up to the border between novelette and novella.

Once I am finished with edits and revisions with this draft I plan to submit it to the Writers of the Future writing contest. If I overshoot the max wordcount of the competition I may reevaluate my plan.

Thanks for reading!

Writing as a Hobby [Almost two years later]

/ Justin Turpen / 2 Comments

20,198 words. The attempt at a novel I referenced in my last post ended with a corner. I had written an outline for the story but a few chapters in I shifted into discovery writing and discovered myself a corner. I’ve heard many authors say that writer’s block can be your subconscious letting you know there is a problem with your story. This was me.

My story was a Hero’s quest. In my mind it was a mixture of the structures found in the Odyssey and The Children of Hurin. In each of the first three chapters the story jumped years forward until it brought us to the first big conflict I had outlined. The whole of the story spanned decades.

These first three chapters I really enjoyed. I had built a world and characters I was proud of and then wrecked their lives like authors enjoy doing. I brought about solid motivation for the protagonist to propel him through the story. I also had strong reasoning and rationality behind the antagonist. But in the end I lost track of why the story gripped me.

In a last ditch effort to save the story I spent months working on, I returned to my outlines and threw out two chapters I had written – confident that I could figure a path forward. I found a path, but it did not excite me like it did when I started. Perhaps I should have pushed through the slog. I didn’t. Instead, I took a five month Hiatus from writing.

I changed careers – from High School History teacher to an Instructional Designer.

My wife gave birth to my daughter.

A pandemic in other parts of the world came to my home.

My parents got Covid.

One of my friends passed away.

An itch in the back of my mind followed me through it all. Write. write. write. I watched Hamilton for the first time when it came to Disney+. I was inspired by “My Shot” and reached out to one of my friends who wrote for a living. He too was looking for a creative outlet and we started what has become my writing group.

I’ve since written a short story and submitted it for competition – an achievement I’m proud of even though I didn’t win.

I’m now working on a longer short story. For a different competition. I’ve completed its first draft and am now working on a polished second draft. Its working title is Adrift and you’ll likely hear about it from me.

That’s the update. I’ve not given up. If you are working toward a similar goal, I hope you won’t either. Every author proceeds the very same way. One word at a time.

Thanks for reading.

Why does History even matter?

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“Why should I care about some dead guy who lived a thousand years ago?” How many times have history teachers been challenged on the importance of their subject? From personal experience I know that I get that question once or twice a year from my most frustrated students. What are some common complaints about secondary history education?

  1. History is just a bunch of dates and names
  2. History is not relevant to my life
  3. Why should I study this stuff, its all online, I can look it up
  4. History is content not skills and thus doesn’t contribute to my future career.

First, History is just a bunch of dates and names if you consider a cake just a bunch of sugar and flower. While this complaint is more likely caused by teaching methods history teachers use it does fail to see the broader picture. It is up to the history teacher to lead student to this fuller more beautiful view of History or to guide them to discover it themselves. If all we do is ask student for dates and names it is no wonder why students say this.

Second, History is relevant to our lives. Can you function without memory? I would argue that you can’t. If you can’t function without memory than do you suppose that a society can? History is the collective memory of society. It may not always remember things correctly, and it may forget some things, but nonetheless our species would be running around in circles if we never remembered anything. You can’t learn without memory, you can’t truly live.

Third, the argument that you can always just look things us is lazy and imperceptive. It also speaks to a misunderstanding of the nature of history. All works of History are made through the lens of interpretation. Since we will never know exactly what happened in the past it is the job of historians to use what evidence they have to reconstruct what the story. While some historians try to remove their bias, it is impossible to completely remove it. By saying “I’ll just go look it up” you ignore, or are ignorant to the fact, that what you are reading is an interpretation. Without being exposed to history you are accepting information that is biased as fact and, most likely, accepting wikipedia as the authority and sole interpretation

Lastly, History is uniquely situated to develop the skills of individuals. Specifically, History allows its learners to see cause and effect relationships. History exposes students to the idea of multiple causation and how our actions have ripple effects to those around us. This can lead to skills in analysis. Writing and argument are both core to history. Taking positions and using evidence to back your claims is one of the most transferable skills history has to offer.

What do you think? Have you heard these complaints before? Is there any you would add? How would you respond to these complaints?

Thanks for reading!

Writing as a Hobby

/ Justin Turpen / Leave a comment

One of the oldest goals I developed for myself goes all the way back to middle school. I had just found out that books were interesting and dove headlong into J.R.R Tolkein’s the Hobbit, Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman’s Dragonlance series, and Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire series. My love of reading only grew in High school where I set a specific “bucket-list” goal for my life. I decided that I wanted to publish a book.

“… a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.” 
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

This pursuit of writing has led to multiple forays into writing novels. At this point I have started at least seven different novels. Ranging from an auto-biography, a sci-fi novel, and multiple fantasy and fiction novels.

Currently, I’m working on a fantasy novel that is inspired by both the city-state system of ancient Greece and the latin language. I’m trying to root the basic plot in contemporary issues that readers may care about. In addition I hope to keep the book grounded in important fundamental human questions. I find that sometimes fantasy and sci-fi authors lean to heavily in the setting and world-building and I think the core of a reader’s experience is their ability to relate or identify with the underlying characters.

My biggest struggle seems to be keeping the discipline to write regularly. I go through fazes of intense focus on writing and then lose it all a few weeks later after I hit a wall in the text or hit a busy season at school. Now that I have finished my master’s degree I hope to pick my most recent novel back up and get the words rolling.

I don’t claim to be an expert at writing and will undoubtably make mistakes as I continue this journey of making this hobby into something more. I plan on documenting my progress and process to achieve this goal primarily to hold myself accountable, but also to see if others are looking to do the same.

Thanks for reading.