Foundations of Writing Scenes: A Save the Cat! Course

In the self-paced course, you will discover a story-breaking strategy to go beyond the beat sheet and develop the scene cards that will become the backbone of your screenplay or novel.

You will achieve a working understanding of Save the Cat! and an inside look at how professional writers break story, giving each scene meaning by serving a well-paced plot on a writer’s board.

The board is a way for you to "see" your story before you start writing. It is a means to easily test different scenes, story arcs, ideas, bits of dialogue, and story rhythms to work out the kinks of your story.

Once you have wrestled your board into shape, you can dive into writing your screenplay or novel with the confidence that your story works.

You'll learn how to...

• use the tool that professionals use

• visually brainstorm your story

• create scenes that work

• plot your hero’s “transformation”

• get over blocks and find new inspiration

• troubleshoot your story idea for viability

• keep your ideas organized, inspired, and well structured

• tighten your novel or screenplay by "keeping its spine straight"

• use the tips and tactics of an accomplished screenplay writer, novelist, and film director: your instructor Jamie Nash