More Cat Saving

Well, I was too late to save the cat from being dressed up like a princess, but I’ve been working on my Save The Cat script prep work.

I decided to do some math. Which is like Prince William taking one look at the princess here and falling flat in love.

We are much surprised.

Before I begin, let me say, although I’m a fan of Blake Snyder, I am not the man’s best student. Any errors here are mine, not his.

I know this because I’ve had well-meaning teachers tell me the right way to do things before and I immediately did it my way instead.

And I tell my daughter she gets her stubbornness from her father. Go figure.

I counted up the steps in Save The Cat that the writer should do before commencing to write a script.

Here they are:

• A logline with a killer title. We'll make that 2.
• 15 beats
• 40 Scene Cards
• Save the Cat moment for the hero

58 things to do before the writing commences.

I’ve added a few of my own, every script needs this, from a list I created after reading about a jillion screenwriting resources.

• 5 Set Pieces
• An Oscar Moment for the hero
  
• Tagline
  
• A reoccurring image
  

Which gives us a Grand Total of 66 items, upon completion of which, the screenwriting will be much easier.

Now, to accurately reflect progress in the sidebar over there, math is required.

I’ve always taken snuggly comfort in being within that generation of women who suffer math anxiety. I cling to it like a hyena on the last bleeding leg bone of a dead antelope.

When our college girl was in seventh grade, she needed help with math. Being dutiful parents, her father and I set out to help her. Her math grade went down. We had to have a meeting at the school. We made the seventh grade teacher frown.

Seriously, I mean it. Keep those numbers away from me.

Which just goes to show, how dedicated I am to screenwriting. Really. I had to wipe away a tear just now.

Okay, in my speed demon approach to prepping the next script, I have exactly 3 items on the list completed.

What percent of 66 is 3?

4.5%

Scientists say mathematics is the universal language. Might as well be Greek.