When most people start learning martial arts, they don’t argue with the instructor constantly. The sensei tells them to throw a punch straight in, and shows how easy a roundhouse is to block, they do it. If they punch with a limp wrist, the instructor tells them they can hurt themselves that way, maybe even flexing their wrist until they feel some discomfort. The sensei shows them a proper fighting stance, explains that they can be shoved off balance with how they are currently standing, they do what the teacher says. The students learns and are happy get something for their $100+/month. I’ve never heard a student say “oh, that’s formulaic” or “I want to break the rules and surprise my opponent.”
New writers, good golly, so many say such things over and over. They want to be new, avant garde and experimental. Rules are for old people, not their free soaring spirits. Perhaps it’s because the rules of martial arts are based on the concrete evidence of the human body. We all bend and break in the same way, we generate power and strength in the same way. If the beginner wants to throw a punch with just his arm, the instructor could make him do that ten times into a mitt, demanding more power. At the end he could ask the student how tired they are. Then he gets the student to use the whole body to throw the punch ten times, and asks them how tired they are. “Can you feel the power? Can you feel how you use less energy to generate more power?” For most, the difference is obvious. The rules of the story are coded deeper into the human psyche and aren’t as obvious. They have to be taught, and many people resist. They want to think they are the special person with inside knowledge that will produce something new and untarnished. Now, the analogy does break down here a bit, because there are ways to break the rules of writing and still have a successful story. Some fighters are so good, they can break the rules and still win the fight, but also the analogy only stretches so far. Stories aren’t martial artists. The story is not in a street fight, and can exist with readers passing it over constantly. Sometimes these stories are rescued by self described elites known as English teachers who prop up stories that deserve to “lose their street fight.” Remember that you have to be good writer to break the rules. If you are a beginning writer, wait a bit, develop your skills, follow the rules. So what if they seem formulaic and contrived. As you gain experience you can eventually challenge the constraints. For now, the deep structure of plot, character and setting all work together to evoke a deep emotional in people, and you use those rules to engage, please, and even surprise the reader.
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September 2019
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