Save the Cat! Writes a Novel

by Jessica Brody

Is your All Is Lost big enough to push your hero into Act 3? (That is, have they really hit rock bottom?) ❏ Have you inserted a whiff of death? ❏ Does this beat feel like another Catalyst for change? Dark Night of the Soul ❏ Is your hero reflecting on something in this beat? ❏ Is this beat leading your hero toward an epiphany? ❏ Does your hero’s life seem worse off than it did at the beginning of the book? Break Into 3 ❏ Does your hero learn a valuable universal lesson (theme) here? ❏ Does your hero make a proactive decision to fix something? ❏ Is the decision based on what your hero needs? ❏ Can you identify why this is the right way to change? ❏ Is your Act 3 world a synthesis of Act 1 and Act 2? Finale ❏ Does your hero struggle to enact their plan? (That is, does your Finale have conflict?) ❏ Is there a Dig Deep Down moment when your hero proves they’ve really learned their theme?

Do the A Story and B Story somehow intertwine in this beat? Final Image ❏ Is your Final Image one scene or collection of interconnected scenes? ❏ Is your Final Image visual? (Are you showing, not telling?) ❏ Is it evident how your hero has transformed? ❏ Does your “after” snapshot somehow mirror your “before” snapshot (Opening Image)?