Thinking. Save the Cat

I'm reading this amazing book on screenwriting at the moment, to try to help my story writing. It's quirky, funny, clear, short. Everything a great book should be.

And finally, I get the elements of plot. Why did no-one teach me this in high school English? Why didn't I do creative writing at uni? Why didn't I buy this book 10 years ago???

So many great ideas, so many smart phrases.

To whet your appetite, the title, 'Save The Cat' is the author's catchphrase for the thing that must happen in every movie in the first 10 minutes to make us identify with and want to follow the hero for the rest of the movie. He/she must do something good (like saving a cat from a tree) or have some sympathetic element to make the audience believe that their story is worth hanging around to see.

I've started watching for it in every book or TV show or movie I see. In fact, I'm going to watch every movie from now on with this book open in my lap.