How I'm Using the 'Save the Cat' Technique to Improve my Cozy Mystery
A few weeks ago I mentioned I had just started reading Save the Cat! Writes a Novel. I’m more and more impressed with this approach the farther into the book I get.
Normally, I’m a fast reader. But with this book, I’m going slowly and deliberately, taking copious notes (by hand!) as I go. Applying it to my WIP (work in progress) is helping me, a lot.
I didn’t realize how much I was internalizing it until a couple of nights ago. My husband and I wanted to watch something and both of us were in the mood for comfort viewing. So we selected the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Curse of the Black Pearl.
I settled back to watch the film for the umpteenth time (it’s one of my favorites when I’m in the mood for something swashbuckling), and all of a sudden I found myself sitting upright in my chair thinking, “well, there’s the theme stated.”
The Save the Cat approach starts with the main character’s problem. The character wants something that will help her solve the problem, but needs something different in order to solve it the right way. There are three acts and 15 distinct “beats” in the story.
Some are obvious, and some are subtle. Theme stated is one of the subtle ones. It’s often a statement by a secondary character that points out the problem, want, and need in a way the main character overlooks or outright rejects.
For example, in Pride and Prejudice, it happens in the scene where the Bennet family are all sitting around the table discussing the young men they met at the ball the night before. One of those men, of course, is the overly proud Mr. Darcy, who insulted Elizabeth Bennet. Her sister Mary makes a moralizing observation about pride, and how it’s a common failing among humankind.
“Pride,” observed Mary, who piqued herself upon the solidity of her reflections, “is a very common failing, I believe. By all that I have ever read, I am convinced that it is very common indeed; that human nature is particularly prone to it, and that there are very few of us who do not cherish a feeling of self-complacency on the score of some quality or other, real or imaginary.
So here’s the theme stated — Elizabeth needs to let go of her prejudice towards pride because everyone has it to some degree.
In the movie, Elizabeth Swann, the governor’s daughter, is of marriageable age and wants a “smart match.” Her ideal marriage is embodied by James Norrington who’s just been promoted to the rank of Commodore in the navy.
What she needs, though, is Will Turner, a young man apprenticed to the local blacksmith. After she’s received a proposal of marriage from Norrington — interrupted — her maid is helping her get ready for bed. The maid comments that Norrington is a fine man, if it’s not too bold for her to say so. Then she follows it up by pointing out that Will Turner is a fine man, too. “That is too bold,” Elizabeth reprimands her.
Boom! Theme stated. The governor’s daughter needs to get past her disdain for Will’s lower class upbringing.
Now if only it were that easy to identify if my own book. . . And that’s a problem I’m working on. . .
What I’m Reading
I’m still going through the Mattie Winston series I wrote about last week, still laughing out loud several times during each book (see the quotes below). For variety, though, I did read Carlene O’Connor’s Murder at an Irish Bakery. It’s book #9 in an ongoing series. (First in the series is Murder in an Irish Village.)
The series centers around Siobhan O’Sullivan, who’s been raising her brood of five siblings since their parents died. The family lives in the town of Kilbane, in County Cork, where they run Naomi’s Bistro and live above the shop.
In earlier books, Siobhan solves some mysteries, ends up joining the local garda (police), and marries the handsome detective Macdara Flannery.
In this book, Siobhan and Macdara are providing security for a big local event, a reality TV baking show being hosted at the disused mill. The grande dame of the Irish baking world is intended to be the star of the show, but she ends up dead. After that, it’s a race against time for Siobhan as she wrestles with a group of oversized egos while she tries to figure out a complicated crime and prevent more deaths.
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Notable Quotes
My conviction holds strong when I stop at the coffee shop on my way to work and order sugar-free flavoring in my skinny latte. But as I drive past the grocery store, the uncharacteristically warm weather seems to scream “ice cream” at me. I start thinking maybe I can switch to a lower-calorie brand instead of giving it up altogether. I spend the rest of my drive wondering how much Healthy Choice ice cream I can buy and eat before it ceases to be a healthy choice.
- Frozen Stiff by Annelise Ryan
Mattie Winston knows she needs to lose some weight, but her appetite is voracious and it’s usually too big a struggle. All my notable quotes this week are from this series, and the next one had me laughing so hard my stomach hurt.
Richmond says his trainer has him burning off a thousand calories during each workout session. Hell, the last time I burned a thousand calories at one time was when I set a frozen pizza on fire because I didn’t clean the oven.
- Board Stiff by Annelise Ryan
Exercise, or lack thereof, is another of Mattie’s issues.
And speaking of fit, my muscles are still sore from my first session with Gunther, and Richmond is nagging me to return to the gym for a second round. Gunther told me there’s a thin person inside me who is screaming to come out. I think I can probably shut her up with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s.
- Board Stiff by Annelise Ryan
I can’t even begin to understand those exercise junkies who claim some endorphin high that leaves them in a state of panting, sweating ecstasy. First of all, you have to endure pain for the endorphins to kick in, so by my way of figuring I could just sit in a room and pinch myself for thirty minutes and get the same result. And I could do it while watching TV, or eating bonbons, or watching TV and eating bonbons. Second of all, I loathe exercise for the sake of exercise. It’s cruel, especially at a gym where the only machines I’ve ever mastered were always in the vending area.
- Board Stiff by Annelise Ryan.
Oh, I can so relate. I really dislike exercising in a gym, although I used to do it. It seems so pointless. What a relief it was when I read of a study that showed if you hate the exercise you’re doing it provides no benefit.