The Best Tool Professional Writers Use Yet Never Talk About
If there’s one thing writers dread, it’s “writer’s block.” We get stuck, not knowing where to go next with our story. But there’s a tool that the pros use to help keep the creative juices flowing. Today’s post, written by Cory Milles, highlights one of the best tools writers can use, regardless of experience.
It’s called The Board, and it’s the most powerful and efficient way to organize your story, allowing you to get to the part you like the most: writing it! The board comprises the 15 beats of the Save The Cat!® Beat Sheet, key moments your story should hit.
Writers have been using this tool for decades, and now it’s even easier with the Save The Cat!® Story Cards.
The Story Cards include both Beat Cards and Scene Cards, which let you plan the story at a glance, and then go into more details as you flesh it out. Here are five reasons the pros use the Story Cards to avoid writer’s block and create stories that resonate.
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1. Chart your character’s journey of transformation.
We don’t want to send our heroes out into the great unknown without knowing their final destination. All stories are about transformation, and the Beat Cards let us make sure that the hero is slowly changing throughout the story, from Opening Image to the Final Image.
2. Make sure your story hits the right moments.
Our brains are wired to receive stories in a certain way. When elements are missing, we know it. The Beat Cards help us to ensure that our story is hitting each beat when it’s supposed to. If our story needs to develop the Debate section or the All Is Lost moment, the Beat Cards help us realize this.
3. Maintain conflict throughout.
Conflict is what makes a story interesting. Because each scene is basically a mini-story, the Scene Cards help us keep this in focus. On each card, we can track what the hero’s goal is, what their opposition is, and visualize the conflict the scene has. More conflict means the story will keep moving, which means the audience will be fully invested.
4. Track emotional change.
There should be an emotional shift with each scene, whether it’s from positive to negative or vice-versa. The Scene Cards help us ensure that as the hero gets closer to or farther from their goal, they’re put on a roller coaster of emotions; that will help the audience experience that, too.
5. Be flexible.
Sometimes we’re not sure where to land a specific scene. Would it go better at a different time in the story? The Scene Cards allow us to experiment with different variations by just moving a card. It might open up new ideas, or it might confirm our original thoughts. But either way, it gives us the ability to try new things with our story to make sure it’s the most powerful it can be.
Once writers learn how to use The Board
Writers are amazed at how much easier it is to plan and write stories using The Board. The Save The Cat!® Story Cards are a writer’s best friend, eliminating “writer’s block” from their vocabulary and giving them the freedom to focus on the story they were born to tell.
Want to learn more?
Make plans to join the Save the Cat!® Storytelling Webinar presented LIVE by the best-selling author of Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, Jessica Brody, on April 10, April 17, and April 24. As a guest of this blog, enjoy a 50% discount when you use the code wow50 at check out.
About Cory Milles:
Cory Milles has been teaching writing for over a decade. In his spare time, he writes Young Adult novels that seek to capture the power of story to transform his readers. When he’s not writing, teaching, or listening to his collection of movie scores, he can usually be found reading more on the craft of writing. He is an editor of Save the Cat!® Goes to the Indies and the author of New Miller’s Grove, Legacy, Paradox, Redemption, and Reboot.
About Save the Cat!
Save the Cat!® is the bestselling story methodology introduced by screenwriter Blake Snyder in 2005 with his first book, Save the Cat! Snyder’s acclaimed ideas, methods, and software have provided thousands of writers with the resources they need to develop their screenplays and novels.
