Save the Cat! Writes a Novel

30k words into my novel, I started feeling stuck. I thought it might my characters — some are definitely easier to write for than others — but I was also hesitant to go back to the drawing board and start scrapping content prematurely.

So I wandered over to Powell's a picked up what touts itself as "the last book on novel writing you'll ever need." (Great, because I'm running out of shelf space.)

Why I picked this up

I'm more of a casual "plotter" than a "pantser;" I like mapping out story beats that I think would be exciting 30, 60, even 80 chapters ahead, then meandering my way to those beats organically. Save the Cat! seems to be promising that I can keep being loosey-goosey about the journey, but with just enough structure to stay focused on the writing itself.

Thoughts so far

I've only finished chapter one so far. It's already kind of blown up my spot. Turns out the character than inspires your book might need to be the protagonist after all.

Neuroqueer vibe check

AuDHD offers us a fun cocktail of needing structure and freedom at the same time. I wanted this book specifically for the "just enough structure" argument; something I can tweak and customize to my own ends so I can stay consistent with my writing. Let's see if it pans out.