Learning the Save the Cat! method is just like learning any other new skill. When you’re first getting started, you’re going to make some mistakes.

To help you ramp up a little faster, here are the top 3 mistakes I see from beginners who are new to using the Save the Cat! method:

Mistake #1: Choosing the Wrong Opening ImageOne of the big advantages we novel writers have over our screenwriting cousins is that we can get directly inside our character’s heads and not only reveal exactly what they’re thinking but narrate the story from their perspective! The problem comes when we spend too much time in our character’s head (especially at the very start of the novel) and forget that our characters need to actually do something.

Oftentimes when first starting out with the Save the Cat! method, novelists will craft an Opening Image that’s a lot of monologue, thought, reflection, or exposition (also called “info dumping”) and not enough action. The character is having a lot of thoughts and maybe even thinking some entertaining stuff, but they’re not actually doing anything.

The key word in this beat is “Image.” This should be a snapshot of your hero’s life…in action. The quickest way to get a reader invested in your story and rooting for your hero is to drop us right into an active scene and show us your hero doing something. Of course, that can still include some thought and inner monologue, but let the action trigger those thoughts instead of letting inner monologue run the show. The more visual and active you can make your Opening Image, the better!

Mistake #2: The Catalyst Comes too LateIf you remember from your starter kit, the Catalyst should come around 10% of the way through your story. Which means if you’re novel is going to be roughly 300 pages, something big and exciting should happen around the 30-page mark. Although the percentages I provide are meant to be guidelines only, the Catalyst is a specific beat that can really make or break your story if it comes too late.

Whether a reader realizes it or not, when they pick up a novel, they are waiting for a good Catalyst. They are anticipating something big that will happen to the hero and shift the direction of the story. They might even know what that is from the book’s description. So when you hold out on delivering that moment for too long, you run the risk of losing your reader’s attention. Readers will only stick around for so long before something really exciting happens to kick the story into high gear.

Late Catalyst often happen when we try to cram too much information into the Setup, or take too long to show our hero’s status quo life and world. If your Catalyst is coming past the 10% mark, ask yourself what information can be held off until later in the story, or perhaps revealed more succinctly with some creative storytelling?

Anything you can do to keep your Catalyst as close to (or even earlier than) the 10% mark will ensure you don’t disappoint or lose any readers before the real fun of the story begins.

Mistake #3: Breaking Into 2 without a Clear GoalThe Break into 2 is a super important beat. It’s where the hero crosses over from the “Status Quo World” of Act 1 into the “Upside Down World” of Act 2. It can be a really fun beat to write and read, but where I see authors getting into trouble is when they forget to establish an Act 2 goal. They get a few chapters into Act 2 and quickly discover that their plot is meandering or they simply don’t know what to write next.

An Act 2 goal is what the hero will be pursuing or trying to achieve throughout most of Act 2 (or maybe just the first half of Act 2). This can be the same or different from the goal they were pursing in Act 1. But the key is that it’s concrete and trackable. Like finding a buried treasure, winning a big tournament, earning a scholarship, befriending the new kid at school, saving the village from a supernatural threat. (As a reader I can easily understand and track any of these goals.)

Giving your hero a goal to pursue in Act 2 immediately gives your second act direction and momentum. Every time you sit down to write a scene in Act 2, you can ask yourself how this scene helps or thwarts the goal, which will ensure your plot doesn’t meander after the Break into 2. A clear Act 2 goal also gives your reader something concrete to track and root for (or root against) which can renew their enthusiasm for the plot in the second act. Not surprisingly, after the Break into 2 beat is when a lot of readers jump ship (put the book down). They may not understand why exactly but the story feels like it’s missing something. The reader doesn’t feel compelled to keep reading. Most of the time this is because there’s nothing to read for. There’s no goal to track.

So go back to the Break into 2 beat in your beat sheet and double check that your Act 2 goal is defined and concrete and save yourself from the curse of the meandering second act!

Okay, those are the three biggest mistakes I see writers make when starting out with the Save the Cat! method. If you’ve run into any of these, don’t worry—it’s not a bad thing! Hitting and overcoming obstacles is key to learning the method and becoming a better storyteller.

Keep analyzing and keep writing!