Isn’t it amazing how accessible information is? How all you really have to do is find your perfect teacher and your life could change? After spending years outlining my book, and trying different methods, I found the perfect resource and now I give you Save the Cat Writes a Novel Review.

Writing a book is a very intimate and vulnerable experience. And most sterile classrooms and dictionary-like facts on the interwaves don’t necessarily nurture this level of sensibility. 

After reading this post you’ll understand why you need to read this book before starting your writing journey. 

This post is a full review on Save the Cat writes a Novel and with reasons why every writer should have this in their arsenal. 

Save the Cat Writes a Novel Review

Structure – It’s easy to follow and easy to come back to.

Unlike most books, you don’t necessarily have to read this book in chronological order. Save the Cat Writes a Novel chapters are like different destinations on a map. Where you start and end depends on the journey you want to take. 

Also, the table of contents is clearly defined and each section has a clear intro and ending. This book performs as if it were a collection of stories woven together. 

Relevant – All the novels mentioned are relevant and modern.

This book has a ton of different examples and outlines for a bunch of modern and relevant stories. 

Now don’t get me wrong, I love me some classics but it’s nice to be able to see examples from living authors that you admire. It makes the whole experience and endeavor seem more plausible and tangible for the taking. 

Humor – Jessica Brody makes jokes. It’s not just a dictionary of facts.

When you read a book that makes you laugh, it catches your attention and causes you to be alert. It also makes you feel as if you’re having a conversation with the writer.

Jessica Brody is very funny and likable and that’s the kind of personable guide you need when writing your first book. 

Author Bio – Jessica Brody had the same problem I had – outlining without a guide is really hard!

Another thing that helps you feel connected to the writer is how vulnerable she is. She literally shares how writing was a struggle for her and how she figured out the best way to work through it. And yes it had to do with outlining a book.

There’s nothing better than realizing you’re not alone when you’re in trouble. 

Catchy Title – Who doesn’t want to save a cat?

Technically we should not judge a book by its cover but what about its title? 

When you pick up this book you think what does saving a cat have to do with writing a novel? And then you think could I do both of those things? 

This is the kind of title that makes you feel empowered from the beginning and makes you realize how creativity doesn’t necessarily have to rely on logic. 

Cover – The cover literally says “The Last Book on Novel Writing You’ll Ever Need”

Another great thing about the cover is how assertive and clear it is about its purpose. The cover literally says, “The Last Book on Novel Writing You’ll Ever Need” and I couldn’t agree more. 

Clarity and transparency are completely underrated. When you have something that confident on a novel cover you know it’s a total winner or a total loser. 

This one is a total winner.  

It made me cry – The examples shared have a lot of heart and capture the essence of the different stories incredibly well.

So this is a book that is supposed to help you write a book. Something that automatically makes you feel like it’s time to be a good student and attend an academic institution. Not necessarily something that would need a lot of heart…but wrong.

The examples that are used are great stories and that leads you to realize how it all starts with a good outline.

If an outline for someone else’s book is able to make you laugh or cry it makes you want to recreate that with your own words. And it’s a way easier feat to cross than writing a book. 

Doesn’t that motivate you to start?

Flexibility – There’s something called the transformation machine and it gives you alternatives, options, and other resources to look into.

As I mentioned this book is a map. But it’s the kind of map where you get to choose which pitstops to make throughout your journey.

Isn’t that fabulous? You’re provided a guide and structure and you still have the creative freedom to use it as you like. 

This leaves you room to be creative while well-informed on what next steps to take. 

Warnings – The beginning of each chapter warns you of spoilers in case you’d like to avoid those sections.

Have you ever looked through Instagram or found yourself reading a meme and then totally ran across a spoiler with no warning? It’s the worst. How about if you had plans to read that book or watch that show?

I love that each chapter gives you a fair warning over the upcoming spoilers. 

Hey, you might even decide to read a spoiler and find yourself wanting to read that book even more. 

Starts strong – The first chapter gets straight into why the book even matters.

We’ve all been there. Whether you started a book, movie, or show there’s been a moment in your life where you wondered why does this matter?

There’s nothing worst than trying to figure out what the good part of a story is and casually reading through everything else.

Well, that doesn’t happen with Save the Cat Writes a Novel. You are immediately told in the first few pages what this book is, why is it important and you are totally drawn in. 

This post was a Save the Cat Writes a Novel Review and why you should read that book now.