SAVE ME FROM FORMULA

I recently asked a writer in a coaching session what she felt she needed the most help with.

“Save me from formula!” she blurted out. 

She was certain the story she had written was formulaic. 

For her, this was the worst possible thing that could be wrong with her story.

“Hold on,” I said. “Let’s talk this through.”

There’s a lot of confusion around FORMULA, STRUCTURE, and SAME WITH A TWIST.

Many writers run screaming from FORMULA.

“I’m not writing anything formulaic!” They shout.  “I’ll lay down my pen (or computer) before I will ever write anything drab, cliché, or formulaic.”

I never encourage ANYONE to write formulaic, predictable stories. Who wants to read that?

Story lovers want to be surprised with the unexpected. They want to be taken to new places, new heights. They want to be lost in the story. They want to be transformed alongside the characters.

BUT…

(No, I’m not going to say they want Formula.)

It’s important to understand story hangs on a time-tested structure that doesn’t change.

But some confuse the Beginning, Middle, and End structure with Formula.

And just because all stories have a beginning, middle, and end, doesn’t mean they’re predictable.

Structure does not = Formula.

But…

Sometimes Formula is structure. For certain types of stories.

There are only so many stories that can be told. Christopher Booker wrote a book about it (Seven Basic Plots).

If I were playing devil’s advocate I might even say that every story is formulaic (gasp!).

(And I kind of lied up there ^^^. Story lovers DO want Formula. To a point. They want FAMILIAR.)

I once had a “discussion” with a writer who tried to convince me that he was writing something so original that it had never been done before. He was writing about an amoeba on a quest.

Okay… He was writing a quest story.

Been done MANY times before.

But the amoeba as a protagonist? That’s a fresh twist.

That’s why I say don’t worry about Formula.

Instead, focus on your unique take, your fresh twist on those (seven) familiar stories.

Like…

The alien who just wanted to get home.

The boys stranded on an island creating their own society.

The rabbits trying to find a new home.

The young woman with 10 days to lose her guy.

The prostitute and successful businessman who fall in love…

The Nine broken strangers who meet at an upscale health and wellness retreat where they’re subjected to drugging and…

The cowboy toy who is replaced as the favorite by a spaceman toy.

The big, spoiled dog who returns to his wild roots when he’s kidnapped and forced to work in gold-era Yukon. (A fantastic transformation tale!)

The dying teens who fall in love.

The wizard boy saddled with saving the world.

The boy who falls in love with a beautiful young girl then loses her, then gets her back.

Wait…

Do you recognize that last story?

No!

Because I could be referring to MANY romances and all romantic comedies.

I’m referring to a formulaic type of story.

I’m having fun and I could keep going…

The point is: stop worrying about Formula. Formula isn’t always bad. 

It all depends on what you do with the Formula.

And it all depends on what you do with that twist. 

And that goes for any story. Any concept.

If you write with Courage. If you write YOU. You won’t need to worry about writing Formula. You won’t need to worry about writing a derivative story.

You can simply focus on writing a unique (because it has a twist on the familiar!) story.

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