Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel: The Ultimate Guide to Writing a YA Bestseller

This is a fun and comprehensive guide to YA novels. I am reading it over and over and highlighting the important points. For those new to YA genre, this is a terrific and easy to follow path from start to finish. The book is full of examples that demonstrate the key points which makes it an ideal tool for an author. Save the Cat YA is a great investment in your writing.

There are many books on creative writing. I heard about this book while listening to a podcast. I'm not into writing formulas or outlining. I'm into following the flow of an idea. But I'm a learner. This book was highly recommended so I decided to give it a go. I have to say, that I was surprised pleasantly. I even reconsidered using some of the recommendations. After all, it's all about the craft. Good read. I recommend giving it a good try.

Based on when I heard people talk about the Save the Cat method in writing circles, I was afraid that this book was going to be one of those "your book must have these 100 elements exactly in this way and you must outline or it's going to be bad" types of books. I'm so glad I took a chance and that it exactly the opposite. Jessica Brody uses the famed "Save the Cat" method in building great Young Adult novels with lots of flexibility and guidance to help both new and experienced writers produce better structured novels without boxing them into writing handcuffs.After a brief introduction about the Young Adult demographic and how it differs from adult fiction, the first two chapters go into developing your protagonist and a detailed overview of what the Save the Cat formula is. Despite being all about structure, it doesn't bash those that plot lightly or at all before drafting, though she encourages making an outline at some point in the editing/revision process. Chapter 3 is dedicated to the idea that the formula is highly customizable, and it gave me a relief for sure. She also introduces concepts that aren't meant to box a writer in, but tools to help guide a confused writer into constructing a great story. It sure helped me change a few things at a whim while I'm rewriting my novel.About half the book is dedicated to breaking down the Save the Cat formula to ten basic types of story setups, each taking up a chapter. It sums up the basics, with the three essential elements of each, and books fit into this category. Finally, there's a deep breakdown of one well known book in the genre (spoilers everywhere!) and a more compact version at the end of the chapter. I love how each were fleshed out and enlightening, and helped understand how the formula can fit almost any book. It really expanded my ideas and views of books I've read.Then the book closes with how to use Save the Cat to promote your book to others, including building a pitch, longline, and a sales copy, then finally how to use it if you're plotting a series, even going up to seven books! The book even ends with one more encouraging pep talk!The start of each chapter has spoiler alerts for the books being covered in case you haven't read them, which was an awesome thing in case you haven't read it yet and wanted to go in blind. There were a few I haven't read and for the ones I cared to avoid the spoilers, I dodged them on my own.Overall, the book was easy to read and comprehend in terms of the prose and concepts, and allows for plenty of flexibility that I'm sure will work for most writers, and already, I'm seeing early returns! Highly recommended for any Young Adult writer!*I received an ARC from Ten Speed Press and Netgalley. All opinions are my own.*

I listened to the audio book before buying the physical copy. It’s a must read for all aspiring young novel writers. You can read along.

I put off buying a Save the Cat! book because so much of the information is online, but when she published a YA version, I knew now was the time to invest. I'm so glad that I did. It's structured perfectly and packed with examples. I'm going to keep referencing this book over and over. It's become a permanent tool in my writer toolbox.

Save the Cat has been around for a long time, but I really have enjoyed Jessica's books on novels. I found her first book instrumental in helping finish the plot of my first draft, and then this one really hones in on the Young Adult elements, which are useful if this is your audience. Both books have a similar layout with this one having much greater emphasis on YA.Her writing style is easy to read and understand and she fleshes out the concepts to make them as simple as possible. The examples come from a broad range of books and are well chosen. Overall it's an essential book for any novel writer but it's especially useful if YA is your target market.

I am not planning to write a YA novel, but the book explained all the different turns and twists that go into writing any kind of adventure-filled fiction. It made me appreciate how stories in other media work, too. I saw a character save a cat in a movie the other day (the director did have a fun twist on it) and I was like, omg, that character just literally saved the cat! Amazing. Even watching cartoons with my kids, I can now see how the A story interacts with the B story as Brody explains it, every time. It really increased my appreciation of popular culture.

This is a fantastic guide, with more helpful guidance & steps along the way to make the journey easier. There were a lot of things I had to go outside of the first book (Save the Cat! Writes a Novel) for, even beyond the author's YT channel. This "YA" itderation presents a lense & examples for YA, but it is truly a more comprehensive & expansive revision of the first iteration. I own them both, & love them both as the insightful guides they have been on my journey to understanding the psychology of story, meaning, & purpose. However, if you are debating which of the 2 to buy, w/out question, buy this one.

Valió la pena la espera. Es más de lo que esperaba, me resultó muy útil.

Jessica Brody makes sense out of story structure. The Save the Cat series has been instrumental in battling the dreaded middle. The structure is based on the Three Act Story Structure, but takes it farther. She helps the writer focus on what draws a reader in, your characters' goals. I was happy to see her write this second book and address more topics, such as multiple POVs. I'd love to see a next book in the series specifically for middle grade.

Do other readers that got the other save the cat found this is just a rehash of that book?

great book on the STC method- STC for the win- AGAIN.

If you’re thinking of writing a YA book, this is a perfect guide, with many useful examples.