Save the Cat! is one of the most popular modern story structures, used by filmmakers and novelists alike. I admit, out of the most popular story structures, this approach has not been my favorite, even though it’s very effective and very famous. But the more time goes on, the more I’ve come to appreciate it..
Like all the other story structures, I feel like Save the Cat! has both strengths and weaknesses. As I explain the structure, I’ll also be sharing my opinions on any concepts I feel could be refined and improved upon. Who am I to think I can do this? Well, I certainly don’t have the same credentials of the creator of it, Blake Snyder! But I can back up everything I say, and you’ll have to decide for yourself what you think.
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But this structure is a great one to learn, in part because it works for so many writers and in part because it includes elements that other structures do not. Also, I know I have friends and followers who have probably had years more experience with it than I have, so I’d like to invite anyone who can refine our understanding of this structure to leave comments, should they so desire.
Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog 
I’ll state up front that I’m a pantster so the concept of writing by beats etc is foreign to me. Do writers actually plot out their stories like a chemistry formula?
I can see how younger writers would get their ‘feel’ for story from movies, but Hollywood movies are very different to European or Asian movies. And contemporary Western stories are very different to stories from just thirty or forty years ago.
Expectations do change, but this formulaic approach to writing seems to assume that there is only one way of writing good fiction. Or at best, a set number of possible formulas to follow. Where did this come from?
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