Dude with a Problem – An innocent, ordinary hero suddenly finds themself in the midst of extraordinary circumstances and must rise to the challenge.Examples: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, Legend by Marie Lu, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Superhero – An extraordinary hero finds themself in an ordinary world and must come to terms with being special or destined for greatness.Hinton, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares. Examples: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, The Outsiders by S. Institutionalized – A hero enters or is already entrenched inside a certain group, institution, establishment or family and must make a choice to join, escape, or destroy it.Examples: Emma by Jane Austen, About a Boy by Nick Hornby, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen, Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin, and many romances, particularly Young Adult (YA), in this group. Rites of Passage – A hero must endure the pain and torment of life’s common challenges (death, separation, loss, divorce, addiction, coming of age, etc.).WhyDunit – A mystery must be solved by a hero (not necessarily a detective) during which something shocking is revealed about the dark side of human nature.Buddy Love seems on point, but check out some of the examples of the other types of stories stated in this craft book. One of the most interesting aspects for me was that almost any of these ten story types could be books of multiple genres, including romance.

The value-add with this book was the exploration of 10 story types and the three essential beats for each of the ten types.

I was already familiar with the basic beats of Save the Cat!, but if you aren’t, this is a handy resource. In Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, author Jessica Brody carries over Blake Snyder’s “Save the Cat!” concept for screenwriting and translates it to novels.

Save the cat jessica brody