As part of my continuing quest to be a good writer and coach, I embrace the opportunity to read different books from various genres. So when I got the chance to read the television writer’s version of, Save the Cat! Writes for TV by Jamie Nash, I was anxious to see what I could learn from a book about television writing.
If you are unfamiliar with the Save the Cat! Methodology, I recommend you read Blake Synder’s Save The Cat! to learn more. Once you understand how this writing methodology works, it might make Nash’s take on writing for TV easier to follow.
While lots of writers dream of writing a book, others dream of writing for television. So if you have always wanted to write for television or you’re looking for a few more writing tips to add to your arsenal, here’s a look at some of the valuable lessons I learned from Save the Cat! Writes for TV .
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Understanding the Save the Cat! Writes for TV formula
When I started reading, Save the Cat! Writes for TV, I was new to the author’s work. But I soon learned that Nash, who describes himself as a writing fool, has written and sold various stories. His work includes the horror films Exists, The Night Watchmen, and Altered, and the family films Santa Hunters and Tiny Christmas. In addition, Nash has written the Middle-Grade novels Bunk! and The 44 Rules of Amateur Sleuthing and the sci-fi novel Nomad. Nash also teaches screenwriting at Johns Hopkins University and MICA and co-hosts the podcast Writers/Blockbusters.
In the book, Save the Cat! Writes for TV, Nash introduces the reader to the essential components every aspiring television writer needs in their portfolio:
- Shows — Creating unique shows that could potentially run for several seasons.
- Season Arcs — How to develop high-level pitches that convey the overall vibe of a series.
- Pilots — The first episode of an original series.
- TV Pitches — A five to 10-page overview that helps a television studio or network understand every element in the proposed TV series.
Nash urges television writers to “start by writing stories you would want to see.” Instead of trying to guess what studio executives want to see, he encourages television writers to “write what you want.” Why? Because, as a television writer, you must be prepared to strive to write stories that are “you on a plate.”
Nash’s book is 254 pages long and he arranged the book into 15 chapters. In each chapter, he explains how aspiring television writers create, manage, and “break story” (a phrase commonly used in TV). He explains that breaking into the world of television writing is not about having fancy degrees. Instead, a writer should be focused on “Conceiving your own show, its world, its people, and write an amazing first episode which both launches the show and demonstrates its promise.” But before you can write a great pilot, you need an excellent idea for a show.
Lessons Learned from Save the Cat! Writes for TV
Save the Cat! Writes for TV is full of tips and exercises writers can use to develop a show. For example, he explains how using Synder’s Save the Cat method using beats, which describe what happens next at a high level, helps television writers produce a script-ready detailed outline. Here are some other important nuggets.
- Your Show Needs a Sticky Hero (Chapter 2). Every television show must have characters that people want to see week after week. Nash calls these characters heroes — whether good or bad. Every hero needs three elements:
A flaw — a personal problem to fix.
A want — a trackable goal to pursue
A need — a life lesson that to learn.
Ultimately, the hero must go on a journey of change.
- It’s Storytime (Chapter 3) In this chapter, the author stresses the importance of having a story DNA mapped out before outlining begins. One of the mistakes made by newbie television writers is having a collection of disjointed scenes or characters surrounded by settings or a situation. Instead, Nash believes the following formula makes every script strong: A protagonist (hero) who wants something (goal), but there is something or someone in the way (obstacle), and if they don’t achieve their goal, something terrible will happen (stakes).
- Owning the Outline (Chapter 13) According to Nash, an outline helps television writers stop painting their stories with high-level brushstrokes and start laying out how each scene will work. The outline is not a script. Instead, the outline should translate into playable scenes that eventually become a script. A key point to remember: “An outline for an hour-long show is 12 to 15 pages. Anything over 18 is too long. Anything under five pages is a bit short.”
The most satisfying part of the book is in Chapter 12 when Nash highlights building the board where you map out your story. You can use a dry-erase board, a corkboard, or an electronic board. Next, it’s time to build story cards, either using index cards or Post-It notes. Following Synder’s beat sheet process, each card should include a summary of each beat. The summary should only be one to three sentences. According to Nash, “Try to keep it fun and don’t get too hung up on rules or wording or overthinking. If you get a wacky idea, put it in. You can always tear it up later.”
Moving Forward
Before ending the book, Nash helps us understand how to perfect the pitch, which are conversations and invitations to invite television executives to buy a show. He encourages television writers to create a pitch document, which is 5-10 pages long and divided into seven sections.
If you are stuck in your writing or want to try television writing, I would recommend Save the Cat! Writes for TV. I promise you that if you read Save the Cat! Writes for TV, with an open mind, you may come away with just what you need to start writing for television.
Check out the Save the Cat! website at SaveTheCat.com or follow them on Instagram to stay up to date with all it does for the writing community.
