Sci-fi/Fantasy and Formulaic Writing

I've never been a fan of the term

I’ve read plenty of craft books, the biggest being Save the Cat, mainly because I felt I had no clue what I was going when it came to Tilting Gravity.

But let me back up…

It took me a decade from the initial spark to signing my book contract to write my debut and I didn’t touch a fiction/genre craft book until sometime during year eight of wrestling with this beast. I then studied formulaic writing a bit more for my fantasy heist project, A Thousand Currents.

But the real question here is: Did I need to?

Many of my indie writer friends can write a novel in a year or two, which makes me curious about how. Is it because they have unlocked some secret in mapping out the “beats” each story must have? Or is it something more natural and intuitive? Keeping in mind editors and writers are two different things, I think I lean more on the natural/intuitive side of things.

We grow up with story. All of us. Every single one. We learn how to tell a story from being told stories in all mediums: oral, signed, written, television, movies, theater, video games. We consume story at almost any given moment. Even this silly blog post is, sort of, a story, and I don’t use some blog formula. I just… Write, and find the rhythm (or “beats” as mentioned above). Writing novels is very much the same way for me.

Keep in mind, formulaic writing isn’t plotting. That’s another post for another time. Formulaic writing, to me, is taking a template and smooshing your characters and story into a shape that may or may not fit them. I believe this is why I have a hard time connecting to so many best-selling authors’ works these days. The characters aren’t allowed to lead. Everything is sacrificed for the sacred formula that we’ve all agreed must happen in order for a story to be satisfying.

Well, I’m not satisfied.

I think we can do better, take better risks with our storytelling, and allow our stories to crash into reader expectations in a way that is new and unique.

Does a template help? Absolutely, especially in earlier drafts. And, I’m a plantser - I plot but my characters show me the way from point A to point B. I particularly like Kaytastic’s outlining method - it’s saved me from scrapping so many good ideas. I also tend to write a decent chunk, then go back and revise my outline based on where the story has decided to go. I don't consider this formulaic writing because it’s fluid, it’s a collaboration between me and the “muse”, we’ll call it.

And that’s my biggest issue with formulaic writing: where is the room for magic? Because that’s what writing is — magic. All art is, really, but writing is a special brand of illusionary magic where I can tell you, dear reader, something and you can imagine it in your mind.

I’ve recently started sharing bits and pieces of my MFA thesis that speaks more to this notion of magic. Here’s an excerpt:

It’s no secret that I employ a poetics of magic, believing I am not a genius but sometimes one will visit me and want to work together. Words do not live within me, I do not create them. They exist externally and choose to collaborate with me, or, at the very least, through me. I choose to pose as a conduit, which a genius can flow through, in my work as an artist and writer. In doing so, in choosing to distance myself from my creativity in this way, I am freed from the pressure of having to produce the absolute best thing and able to simply... Produce. The lightness is worth the construct, saving me from the inner critic and allowing space to make choices not out of fear, but out of curiosity.

I mention constructs here because formulaic writing is but another. Where I choose magic, you may choose formula. And neither is right nor wrong, just different. So, why not pull on every resource available to make your work the best it can be? Your characters deserve nothing less.

Happy writing, y’all. ✌🏻