I love your use of the phrase "time honoured formula." It's very self-defeating for unpublished authors to sneer at formulas and entertainment genres. Once we get the basics of structure down, and those building blocks become part of the compost of our imagination (Graham Greene's words, not mine) we can springboard off to write those from-the-heart opuses.
For writers who can magically sit down and start writing from-the-heart masterpieces without studying the craft, great. For the rest of us who fear we'll end up pumping out reams of unstructured rambling, killing those seedlings of original literature ideas in the process, having some help with the first (or first few) manuscripts is a great idea.
I think we instinctively know which way we want to go...just write and hope for the best, or use a plot & structure book/study genres, etc. and practice the craft. Both ways are valid, and writers would do well to respect all paths that nurture creativity and fulfillment. Formulas become formulas for a reason, yes? =D
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Date: 2009-08-15 05:59 pm (UTC)For writers who can magically sit down and start writing from-the-heart masterpieces without studying the craft, great. For the rest of us who fear we'll end up pumping out reams of unstructured rambling, killing those seedlings of original literature ideas in the process, having some help with the first (or first few) manuscripts is a great idea.
I think we instinctively know which way we want to go...just write and hope for the best, or use a plot & structure book/study genres, etc. and practice the craft. Both ways are valid, and writers would do well to respect all paths that nurture creativity and fulfillment. Formulas become formulas for a reason, yes? =D