“Tells you what to write”

On Monday, I posted this analysis of the Coen brothers’ remake of the movie True Grit in terms of its story structure, referencing among other things ideas drawn from Joseph Campbell’s articulation of The Hero’s Journey. That elicited this comment from Dave who said:

The structure is alot more complicated (see Kal Bashir’s 510+ stage Hero’s Journey at http://www.clickok.co.uk/index4.html ) but you’re on the right track.

I posted a comment in response, but figure most of you didn’t read it, so I’m re-posting it here:

@Dave: Here’s one problem I have with approaches that try to extend the “stages” of The Hero’s Journey into screenwriting and it’s a quote from an ad page for Bashir’s products: “Tells you what to write.”

No writing principles should tell you what to write. They can help you dig into a story. They can help you understand the story. They can help you shape the story. But a story is an organic thing, not a set of widgets. The problem with the way a lot of screenplay structure paradigms are used is reflected in that comment: Writers think if they know exactly what beat goes where, they will write a great story. Perhaps they do. Perhaps they don’t. One thing is clear: Understanding the 12, 17, or 510 ‘stages’ of The Hero’s Journey does not necessarily translate into good writing. For that, there is only one thing: To go into the story deeply enough that you connect with its heart and soul — the characters — and see where they take you. 

Programs which purport to “tell you what to write” are suspect because they promise to take the mystery out of writing… when in fact it’s the mystery of the process where the magic is found.

The approach I teach provides essential principles to guide a writer’s creative process and help them wrangle their story, but mostly to immerse them in their story universe and understand their characters so they can (hopefully) find that magic.

Curious as to your thoughts on the matter.

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