BOOKISH: Save the Cat

I had an Uncle Earl, who one day reached under his bed, looking for something. That’s when the family cat, an evil-tempered, cross-eyed monster of a Siamese, locked onto his hand. He swore, pulled his arm out, and threw the cat through the screened window.

Not many people could do this. I should have added Earl drove a semi for a living, stood six four and weighed 300 pounds.

A neighbor came over. What just flew out your second-floor window, he wanted to know. A cat, Earl told him. He had no more questions. The cat returned a few days later, but for the rest of its life didn’t come within ten feet of Earl.

I’m not sure why I told you this story. I sorta do. Stay with me. We’ll find a lesson somewhere.

A writing lesson, it turns out. There’s a book for creatives called Save the Cat. It’s been around for years. Evidently, plots can be broken down and studied. I like the title, Save the Cat. Save the cat for what? The end of your book?

No. It turns out to be a small part of the overall advice, but ‘Save the Cat’ was so catchy they had to lead with it. Saving the cat refers to making your protagonist likable. By allowing them to save a cat, or the equivalent, the reader perceives the hero as worthy.

I doubt this works. You can’t force characteristics on characters. They have to develop organically, just like real people. Formulas interfere with this.

That’s why formulaic is a bad word. However, there is one truism in saving the cat. You want your characters to be likable. Check out the one and two-rated comments on Amazon and Goodreads. Unlikable characters are a major, major issue.

I know why authors are doing this. They think profanity-spewing, nasty people will be viewed as real. They won’t. It’s just a cheap shortcut. Instead, the fiction writer must go deep. How? When we write a story, the characters really don’t come from other people. Whether good or bad, they are really us. The good and the bad.

You gotta write what you know… and you know you.

When you become your character, that character will come alive. People who like you will like your hero. Or at least be intrigued. Something like that. And if you still think your hero needs to save a cat, think about my Uncle Earl. Sometimes throwing the cat makes a whole lot more sense.