Those of you who have read my blog for any length of time know that occasionally I write about books that I find inspiring. Usually they have to do with writing.

One of those is Save The Cat, Blake Snyder‘s wonderful insightful book on the schematics of good story-telling.

It’s aimed at screenwriters. It’s a perfect primer for anyone who wants to know how to tell a good story.

Last summer — just over a year ago — the Romance Writers of America were privileged to have Blake speak at their national conference in San Francisco. Over the past few years, since Save The Cat became a hit, he spoke at a variety of conferences and workshops in many places all over the world, bringing wisdom, humor and enthusiasm with him. He was brimming with life and simply humming with great ideas.

So it was a sad shock to learn that Blake passed away yesterday morning.

His death is a loss to not only his family and friends, but to all of us who write books or screenplays or tell and share stories. We have lost a mentor, an enthusiast, a companion on the journey. And we will all mourn that loss.

At the same time those of us who have read his books and/or heard him speak or shared email correspondence with him, know that we have been given the gift of his insights, his wisdom, his sense of humor and his encouragement. His generosity even more than his insights should inspire us all.

I’ve written 63 books. Only in the last one could I have begun to tell you what the theme was because I paid attention to Blake’s schematics when I was writing it.

I didn’t write it differently than I wrote the others, but I understood it differently. I knew ‘why’ I did certain things now. And I knew when something wasn’t going right how to rethink things and realize what was missing or where the story had gone off the wrong way. I knew how to bring it back. It’s a better book because of Blake’s book, because of his insights into story structure.

I was eagerly awaiting his book on writing romance. I hope he left notes somewhere and that someone can put them together into a book. I’d love to read them. I want to learn from them. 63 books hasn’t begun to teach me everything. Blake taught me a lot.

May those of us who have learned from him continue to share his wisdom and his enthusiasm and his generosity with each other and with the world. May we also follow in his footsteps and share our own insights and help each other.

No one will ever quite fill his shoes, though. We whose lives he touched through his books, his work and his generous willingness to share and encourage others have indeed been blessed.