On Writing : The Writing Process: Methodology Versus Instinct by Steven Burks

One of the biggest myths (IMO) of creative writing is the "just do it" approach. "Freewriting" usually leads to disaster for the vast majority of writers. Yes, yes, yes... there are those gifted few who can just go for it and end up with something workable, but there is a reason for this... and the reason is why they are "the few" and not the many. They have the story gene (or as you say: instinct). Most writers don't have this gene; they have the writing gene, but not the story gene (writing and storytelling are two completely different things!). Story does not come naturally to most writers, so they end up freewriting themselves into the story woods and get lost. Happens all the time. ALL THE TIME. Outlining is your friend, planning is your friend. Even writers who say they don't do outlining do it... they just don't realize they do it :). Story development by nature is a reductive process. As soon as you choose story point "A" over story point "B" you have eliminated all the other options, i.e., reduced you set of possibility. Story development is reductive, not expansive... the question is.... are you making the best choices for the story. This is where the "gene" comes in. Some can make right-choice naturally, effortlessly ... most can't. For those without the gene, there is story development craft. You might not have the talent for it, but you can learn the craft of it. That's not so shabby, BTW. Anyway... my 2 cents.

Yeah, I thought about the notion of even the instinctive writers having de facto methods of which they simply may not be aware. Good point about the story gene too.

Something that has been working quite well for me is to spend a month coming up with an idea a day. Just a little premise pitch. Bare minimum idea for stories I could write. Once I have 30 I vet them myself, then take them to my small group of trusted friends and pitch them. My goal is to come up with 3 ideas I could write. And ultimately 1 I will. I find this technique allows me to surprise myself, as I get my most obvious ideas out of the way early and then have to dig deeper as the month goes on. And by pitching to my friends I get a sense of which ideas are working and I really like. The act of telling them tells me what I think is working. It's also very helpful in developing a full summary for the story quickly. Whatever idea makes it to the final three is one I can't put down. One my brain won't let go of. And one that my friends like too. Knowing the story works, that I like it, and seeing it come together quickly has helped turn methodology into a channel for instinct. It's become my way of doing steps 1-5 all at once, and enjoying the trip

Thanks for sharing Dylan. I like how you've found a combination of the two approaches. Reminds me somewhat of pitching coach Stephanie Palmer's advice about pitching early and often.

She is an excellent resources. But it was actually one of the books she recommended that helped me build this new way of working. It's called "The Lean Startup" by Eric Rise; and while not about screenwriting, it is about creating in a climate of extreme uncertainty. Worth the read.

Great insights by everyone here. I am struggling myself with figuring out a methodology that works best for me. I'm attempting to write a screenplay on what I think is a good idea but really having a tough go at the outlining phase - developing the story. I wonder, how much do you rely on having friends/fellow writers to bounce ideas off of? I feel perhaps part of the reason for my "outlining block" is that I get a creative charge out of collaboration and thus far I have been working in isolation with my idea.

I can relate to the isolation thing also Jeff. I presume bouncing ideas off others is valuable, in helping us overcome our subjectivity, as long as the people in question know what they're talking about. But if they don't have story sensibility and knowledge of craft, I'm far less inclined to see the value in it. Readers who cannot differentiate between their preference for your premise and the quality of script execution, or the toxic, contrarian types who tend to find script problems even when there are none, are examples of the kinds of readers I avoid. Legit feedback is worth paying for, so I've purchased script coverage and analysis from time to time. But even with that you've got to be careful; not everyone who hangs a shingle knows what they're doing.

Stephen--you sure got that right re the shingle :)

You're quite right about bouncing idea off the right people, Stephen. I've been thinking about other ventures I've been on where collaboration was a natural part of what I was doing, and I really miss it in this venture. But absolutely I would only want to seek that with others in the field who would have something relevant to offer. Since I see Jeff Lyons also posted regarding the paid script consultant theme, would either of you have a recommendation or recommendations on who to use?