Rules are for suckers • 7 February 2008 • The SnowBlog
Rules are for suckers
For all my talk of pre-plotting, I tried doing some screenwriting the other day. I just sat down and wrote the bits that had popped into my head without worrying too much about where I'm going with it. It was some of the most fun I've ever had with a word-processor. Exhilarating! It's like a drug. No more pre-built plot for me. The story will just have to take care of itself. Stand aside! I have writing to do. updated: After Hannah Davies's remarks, I thought I should make it clear that I'm joking. Not about how much fun it's been, but about abandoning planning permanently. It's been great, but of course now I'm stuck. And as I should have made even more clear, I almost always write (hopefully) pacey thrillers or mysteries. Surely it would be irresponsible to write a whodunnit, without knowing whodunnit. Or to work your way towards an action-packed climax (we're still talking writing, here, by the way) without first deciding what the climax is. But I'm sure you realised that about 25 comments ago.
Rob
For all my talk of pre-plotting, I tried doing some screenwriting the other day. I just sat down and wrote the bits that had popped into my head without worrying too much about where I'm going with it. It was some of the most fun I've ever had with a word-processor. Exhilarating! It's like a drug. No more pre-built plot for me. The story will just have to take care of itself. Stand aside! I have writing to do. updated: After Hannah Davies's remarks, I thought I should make it clear that I'm joking. Not about how much fun it's been, but about abandoning planning permanently. It's been great, but of course now I'm stuck. And as I should have made even more clear, I almost always write (hopefully) pacey thrillers or mysteries. Surely it would be irresponsible to write a whodunnit, without knowing whodunnit. Or to work your way towards an action-packed climax (we're still talking writing, here, by the way) without first deciding what the climax is. But I'm sure you realised that about 25 comments ago.