Question regarding the Catalyst

[Rixter]

I just finished reading Blake Snyder's book, "Save the Cat." He suggests placing the catalyst on page 12. In a perfect world, I can see that happening, but in your guys' opinion, what is the earliest and latest this can be done?

Thanks.

 

[TheOpusFuller]

I just finished reading Blake Snyder's book, "Save the Cat." He suggests placing the catalyst on page 12. In a perfect world, I can see that happening, but in your guys' opinion, what is the earliest and latest this can be done?

Thanks.

It really depends on the story you are telling...

For instance, if you're writing a story that starts with a husband and a wife talking in a car back and forth. after about 10-12 pages they get hit dead on by a drunk driver. The wife dies, And the husband sets out for the rest of the story to confront the drunk driver and get revenge. Then you can easily have the catalyst at 10 pages in. Heck 7 or 8.

It all depends!

But this is exactly why I don't like books on how to write screenplays. Because now, you're coming in here questioning what is the earliest or the latest.

In my opinion, there are no rules or guidelines when and where to place the inciting incident. When it feels right is most likely the best answer.

 

[directorik]

Exactly!

While guidelines are important - as the foundation of a building is - there
are no hard and fast rules. This is where books can confuse. And they
sure confuse a lot of people.

Just because Snyder says page 12 does not mean that's where the catalyst
needs to be. Nor does it mean there is an earliest and latest. You know there
needs to be one (the guideline or foundation) - where it is depends on the
lay of the land.

Step away from the rule book and place it where it feels right. If it works for
you then allow others to read it. If they are confused or feel something doesn't
work, then maybe your off. Rewrite - repeat.

 

[polfilmblog]

A story can have many catalysts.

Snyder is best read and then ignored, in my opinion.

 

[laughingcrow]

...He suggests placing the catalyst on page 12 ...

My first thought when I read this post was "that's formulaic crap."

And then, just for the hell of it, I opened up the script I just finished, turned to page twelve, there was a big, fat, juicy catalyst.

I didn't plan it that way. And I still don't subscribe to formulas, or haven't read that particular book. But there it was, the first real inciting incident that sent my story down a new path and helped set the tone. Would it have worked if it had been on page twenty? It just depends on how much of a build up it needed or how much suspense I was trying to create. My story is a thriller so I wanted a nice, quick pace right from the beginning.

 

[FantasySciFi]

I just finished reading Blake Snyder's book, "Save the Cat." He suggests placing the catalyst on page 12. In a perfect world, I can see that happening, but in your guys' opinion, what is the earliest and latest this can be done?

Thanks.

Earliest is in act one and the latest is before the end of the movie.

It depends on the story and your style. For most stories, the catalyst is what kicks the events in gear for the second act. In some stories--another thread was talking about McGuffins--the initial catalyst may become something else in Act Two. Dorothy's "See the Wizard" transforms to "Get the Broom". The broom forces each of the characters to explore their fears just as the trip to Oz causes them to explore their desires. It can come in Act 3 as a "redemption". Darth Vader witnesses the Emperor zapping Luke, his son. And at that point, steps in and kills the Emperor. Anakin is 'redeemed'. Luke's faith in his father is a catalyst for the destruction of the empire in a truly Gothic fashion.

Please don't take pages as literal. What you do find is most successful screenplays have a dramatic device every 10-12 pages statistically. That doesn't mean "Gosh, what am I going to do now that I'm on page 12?!" But by the first ten pages, you must hook the reader/viewer's attention. And the next ten pages should set the tension/motivation for the remainder of the movie as well as introduce the main characters. A catalyst often does that. His suggestion isn't really out of line, but it should not be taken as prescriptive. It needs to be tied into the story.

 

[Rixter]

Thanks for the replies and confirmation. To be honest, the only books I've read on screenplays in Scott Bell's "Plot and Structure" and Blake Snyder's "Save the Cat, " and Syd Field. I didn't think storytelling was an exact science. I was just curious as to what Readers, Producers, etc... look for when reading a screenplay. I ordered "The Screenwriters Bible" and hopefully that'll give me some more insight as well.

Thanks again guys.