Instant Character Bonding … In One Scene
Hooking a reader’s interest starts with the first line. Getting the reader to connect with your character on an emotional level so they stay with the story has to follow immediately. But how? That’s what I wanted to know.
Who knew the answer was in the first sixty seconds of the classic Clint Eastwood film “Hang ‘Em High”?
It’s what Blake Snyder calls a Save the Cat! moment.
In Blake Snyder’s words, a Save the Cat scene is…
…where we meet the hero and he does something — like save a cat — that defines who he is and makes us, the audience, like him.
And OK, so Clint saves a calf, not a cat? It still has the same effect. That one simple act of compassion makes us like him. We instantly care about what happens to him. We’re rooting for him throughout the rest of one of the roughest, toughest, shoot-em-uppest westerns of all time.
We gladly signed on to Team Clint all because he waded out into the river and saved a stranded calf. (Check out the Novel Dog narration of the clip below.)
So… what’s your favorite Save the Cat scene?
In a movie or a book … Inquiring minds want to know!
Elizabeth Fais 
THAT was the perfect example. I can’t think of any more at the moment. I’ll be interested to see what other commenters come up with. I agree with you Elizabeth, Save The Cat is an excellent resource.
In the opening scene of “Princess Diaries” Mia picks up her cat, Fat Louis, and carries him downstairs and puts him on his cat tree down there. Not exactly “saving the cat” but she’s being considerate, and that counts. Later, at around 9:00 in the following clip, she lets a boy have her place in the front row of the choir because that’s where he prefers to be. The actions that get us to like a character don’t have to be huge. They can even be a flaw that we can relate to, like when Mia throws up because she’s terrified of public speaking. Blake used to say that you don’t really need a save the cat scene, if you have a scene like that going for your character because we can relate to their predicament.
I’m with Suzanne – a most awesome example. Save the Cat is on my to-buy list and now I want to run out and get it today. I also can’t think of a favorite moment in a movie, but I’m sure I’ll be mulling that over all day today. If I think of one, I’ll pop back over and let you know! 🙂
A Save The Cat scene doesn’t have to be as explicit as the one in “Hang ‘Em High”. According to Blake, it can be as subtle as someone doing something nice for someone else. For example, in “While You Were Sleeping” Sandra Bullock’s character breaks the downstairs apartment window when she’s trying to hoist her Christmas tree up to her apartment by rope through her window. She offers to pay her landlord for the expense of replacing it, which he declines, and then gives him an unexpected Christmas present. The landlord likes and appreciates Lucy (Sandra Bullock), so we do too. The scene starts at 4:29 in the following YouTube clip.
Well, shoot…I’m sure I must’ve seen a great many “save the cat” scenes over the years, but I can’t think of even one right now 😦 Save the Cat sounds like a great book. I might have to check it out if its wisdom can be applied to fiction writing.
The principles definitely apply to fiction writing. Jessica Brody and Alyson Noel are two authors that shot to success after applying Blake Snyder’s principles to their stories. It’s just good storytelling, no matter what format the story’s delivered in. Plus, his books are fun reads. 😉
Yeah, that’s kinda what I figured. Sounds like this book is another candidate for my monstrous To-Buy list 🙂