Kill the Cat

by Jose Ordoñez Jr.

In 2005, Blake Snyder wrote one of the most popular screenwriting books; the go-to Hollywood formula for screenwriting, Save the Cat. I was sixteen when I first read it, and found the information unduly illuminating. At that time, I was a beginning screenwriter trying to copy every work that inspired me. Maybe that’s why I liked the book.

Don’t get me wrong, I love reading screenwriting books. Once I’m able to look past the formulas and the laws and get to the principles, I find inspiration in the material. But it’s time to kill the cat. 

The problem found with books like Save the Cat is that even though the information is practical, the recommended writing process kills the cat while trying to save it. BREAK INTO TWO HAPPENS ON PAGE 25 NOT BEFORE. This is the sort of information that kills the essence of screenwriting.

I love books that breakdown Jungian archetypes into digestible chunks. I enjoy the analysis, the sampling. There’s just one little problem. Art is constructive while analysis is deconstructive. Save the Cat deconstructs art into empty formulas that fit the model but don’t challenge it. It reduces art to B-STORY IS INTRODUCED IN PAGE 30. I have a better tip; write your script and then deconstruct it. Don’t deconstruct it before it’s written.

I believe in Jungian archetypes. And if the collective unconscious is truly collective then it will come alive in a good story, no matter what. Three Bedrooms fits the beat sheet almost flawlessly. If Jung was right my experience matched the collective. I didn’t have to carefully plan it so that BREAK INTO THREE IS ON PAGE 85.

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