Skip to content
Save the Cat - Writes a Novel - Help Doc
Welcome
Building a Book
Save the Cat Genre’s
Building a Pitch
Theme Ideas
Characters of the World
Notes
More
Share
Explore

icon picker
Welcome

​
Dan Demers
|
Maria Marquis

The best way to begin is at the beginning...

So, we heard you want to write a book? Is that true? Well then, let us tell you, that’s awesome, and we are 100% behind you!
The concept of writing a novel can be one of the most daunting tasks you can endeavor to do. But you should do it? We are! Ernest Hemingway called the blank page the white bull, and for good reason. A writer stands poised for battle with a pen, pencil (or in this case a keyboard) and the wild animal in front of you. No matter if the “bull,” is a sheet of paper, or a computer screen, (much like this one...), it’s easy to get stuck on the vast emptiness of that colorless wall when you sit down to write. But nothing can match the innate human desire to express themselves through stories be it verbal, performance-based, or written.

Great, so you want to write a book!

You woke up one day and said “YES! Today is the day!” That one story that has been bubbling up inside you for so long has worked its way to the forefront of your mind. Now what? How do you go about starting? Where to begin? These are feelings and questions we all have when creativity strikes no matter the medium.
For the two of us, our ideas had been planted years ago, but we never knew how to grow the seed. Every time we tried to sit down and start, for one reason or another, we would get caught on something, lose momentum, not know where to begin, or insert 100 other reasons why things stall out. Then came Jessica.
Jessica Brody is the author of more than 20 novels for teens, tweens, and adults including The Geography of Lost Things, The Chaos of Standing Still, I Speak Boy, A Week of Mondays, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, the Unremembered trilogy, and the System Divine trilogy which is a sci-fi reimagining of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, co-written with Joanne Rendell. She’s also the author of Save the Cat! Writes a Novel (the #1 bestselling plotting guide for novelists) and several books based on popular Disney franchises like Descendants and LEGO Disney Princess. Jessica’s books have been translated and published in over 25 countries and several have been optioned for film and television.
⁠
Save-the-Cat-BRODY.jpeg
⁠
⁠

Run, don’t walk to get this...

The book itself,
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel
⁠
presents a comprehensive story-structure guide for novelists that applies the famed
Save the Cat! screenwriting
⁠
methodology to the world of novel writing. Revealing the 15 "beats" that comprise a successful story--from the opening image to the finale--this book lays out the Ten Story Genres alongside quirky, original insights to help novelists craft a plot that will captivate.
When we tell you that we devoured this book, that is an understatement. We both would talk about the ideals and insights Jessica shared and, suddenly, our literary creative dreams began to germinate from solid ground into a tangible sprouting reality. Yes, not only is this possible, but now the vibrant rich world and characters were suddenly taking form. It was at this moment that we both looked at each other and said, you know what this needs? You guessed it, and thus was born this Coda Doc!
So welcome to the Save the Cat - Writes a Novel Coda Doc! Our love letter to Jessica and her phenomenal process that not only continues to help us in our writing endeavors, but thousands of others writers in the world.
“Don’t forget - no one else sees the world the way you do, so no one else can tell the stories that you have to tell.” - Charles De Lint

Join us, the world wants to hear your story!

⁠
Copy This Doc
⁠
⁠

Want to print your doc?
This is not the way.
Try clicking the ⋯ next to your doc name or using a keyboard shortcut (
CtrlP
) instead.