You might think that writing to formula is a creativity killer, but in a recent blog post, Kristen Lamb says that mastering your writing formulas and rules can help save your story.
“Formula is critical for everything, even writing,” Lamb says. “There are fundamental rules we must learn in all forms of art. Once we learn the rules, we can break the rules.” Those rules can also help you fix a piece of writing when it’s not working.
“Formula is fantastic if we run into a problem,” Lamb writes. This is particularly true with structure. Non-linear structure is popular with a lot of writers and some readers, but it’s easier to master once you understand straightforward three-act structure.
Genres also have formulas that create boundaries and constraints, but they are also a writer’s friend, because those constraints help you structure and tell your story. But within those lines, you can experiment and play with tropes and expectations.
That doesn’t mean you should be formulaic. “The difference between formula and formulaic is in execution,” Lamb explains. “Are we being predictable? Is the reader bored because they can guess the ending? Do we have too many cliches?” Even literary fiction has its own unique formulas. “It still must adhere to all the rules, the only difference is the plot arc is subordinate to the character arc,” Lamb says. “For instance, in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, Man and Boy must make it to the ocean (goal). What isn’t important is if they make it. What’s most important is HOW they make it.”
