The dangers of reading books about writing

[dragonjournal]

I tend to read through books about writing. I like reading them. However, sometimes, they just boggle me. Following is an excerpt from the book The Elements of Storytelling by Peter Rubie:

An idea, however, is not a story. Shaping an idea into a story is the difficult part. In the same way that an artist needs a pencil sketch to begin an oil painting, or a chef a recipe to begin cooking a meal, a writer needs a synopsis that broadly sketches out in coherent terms the essential elements of his or her story from beginning to end.

The reason some writers affect disdain for such barebones plotting is that it's very hard to do. They seem to forget that, beyond style, what makes the great novelists and short story writers of the past great is their storytelling abilities. Writers who insist they just "let the muse take them where she will" are being intellectually lazy.

It goes on from there, but seriously "intellectually lazy"? What?

So, I write by the seat of my pants, mostly. But, I'll take being intellectually lazy. This book is a wash for me.

Comments

[etcetera_cat]

By his standards, I am so intellectually lazy that if you gave my intellect an EEG, it'd just show flatlines. And, y'know? I'm okay with that.

(also, having a synopsis and plan sometimes results in sparkly vampires. Which no one wants)

[dragonjournal]

I'm occasionally flatline as well. I get into the problem that planning takes half the fun out of it. Because, seriously, I don't always want to know where the story is going. I like the characters to take me random places.

That's what editing is for.

[st_aurafina]

I am so over people who try to tell me that there's only one true way of writing. Or doing anything, for that matter. What a horrible and stifled view of something that should be joyous.

I do plan and it's important for my process, but that's a long way from telling people that if you don't do it, you're intellectually lazy. (What does that even mean?!?)

[dragonjournal]

IDEK what "intellectually lazy" means. I took the book back to the library, because seriously? WTH?

I plan some broad things out, but nothing major. Why? Because I like to be surprised by the characters.