Are you an instinctual writer?

[therosesword]

This is an old article (2008) about instinctual writing but its message holds true today and I thought you all might find it interesting.

Writing by Ear, by Gut, by Instinct

I am such a writer. I found this out through the years, some through classes and teachers but mostly through having jobs that demanded immediate or near immediate production.

I read a lot of you talking about going in and taking scenes and chapters and lines and editing and crafting etc. Which we all do, I do too. But sometimes I wonder if some of you are taking the word "craft" to a degree that it shouldn't be taken and let your writing flow get interrupted. You can destroy what you're working on if you become to strong-armed in bending it to what you think it should be.

I have an example that happened to me to illustrate:

Years ago I received a late night call from a director friend of mine who was directing one of my plays for a local festival. He proceeded to cuss me out (it's okay I could tell he wasn't crazy level angry).

After he calmed down he told me that the whole second act of the play didn't work. I knew this not to be true but I waited and after taking a breath he said... F*** you, I took out that one throw-away line you had in act one and it destroyed all the meaning of act two. D*** you instinctual writers (mind you he was an English lit teacher) drive me freaking nuts.

We, of course, laugh a lot about that now but to tell you the truth, I had no idea that that one line would make that much difference. I've written other things that have done that also. It isn't that I planned to do it, it simply happened that way.

Again, having worked advertising copy and being a staff writer for an audio drama company for twelve years really hones those instincts. When you have to produce, and produce something good in a limited amount of time you either rise to it or not. Like when the boss calls you on the weekend and says he needs a 25 minute script for Wednesday and it's Saturday night.

This in no way at all is a slam on those who spend hours carefully constructing their work. I have often found myself envying them that ability. To sit and live with the story and mold it and construct it is, to me, a thing of beauty. Unfortunately for me (or fortunately, who knows) when it comes to writing for me it tends to be a case of word diarrhea in that the words and story simply spew forth and then I go back to clean up the mess.

But, for those of you who are struggling thinking you need to spend copious amounts of time "crafting," have any of you sat back and thought about the possibility that you are an instinctual writer and that's your craft? It's possible you need to spew forth and then clean up the natural flow of things.

I never really sat down and thought about it until a University writing teacher friend told me that's what I was after I told her the story about my play. She said with students that she had like that all she did was try to steer them in the right direction and not stop them from working the way that produced excellent work. The reason being that once forced to write the other way they often became so frustrated they stopped writing.

Write hard, write true

[cherrystark]

What a great article! Thank you for sharing it with us. I like to think that I am an instinctual writer sprinkled with rules here and there to guide my creativity in the right direction. Storytelling is as natural to me as breathing. Yes, I've had to practice my craft over the years but it's natural to me. I read a few pages of a supernatural fic I wrote when I was a teenager. There was lots of teenage faux-pas that made the adult me cringe but technical-wise, it wasn't bad. The description was good and after a few pages, I found myself connecting with my character. If I felt the need to do so, it's a piece I could easily revise and polish as an adult and it would be a solid story.

After he calmed down he told me that the whole second act of the play didn't work. I knew this not to be true but I waited and after taking a breath he said... F*** you, I took out that one throw-away line you had in act one and it destroyed all the meaning of act two. D*** you instinctual writers (mind you he was an English lit teacher) drive me freaking nuts.

We, of course, laugh a lot about that now but to tell you the truth, I had no idea that that one line would make that much difference. I've written other things that have done that also. It isn't that I planned to do it, it simply happened that way.

I had an English teacher ask us to write a Gothic short story as an assignment after studying Edgar Allan Poe and other Gothic writers. I just wrote what came naturally and she loved it. (The story was from the perspective of a killer stalking his prey.) I was thrilled when she asked my permission to post it in the school paper and thrilled when people demanded a retraction. My mystery-loving family was mad because they couldn't figure out who the killer was. My work made people feel and it intern made me happy.

[rajillustration]

I do think that writing tends to be really flexible--cuz you can just erase it and start over. With books and short stories it's very freeing to just write and see what comes out (and usually when I write a story I try not to start over or re-read what I've already written until the first draft is completely done) And I think because I was trained in storytelling and because I read a lot of books, I'm still able to draw in meaning and symbolism and follow well known story beats just habitually. And like it's sort of like being a good DM for a role playing game--the best DMs are those who can spin meaning into stories and spin wonderful character arcs into stories they don't really have full control over.

But with webcomics (which isn't what you're talking about, but I do webcomics so) it's the opposite of flexible. You do something that takes 6+ hours a page and you have an update schedule that's generally to the wire, and I really can't purely rely on instinct anymore, because at some point your instincts will write you into a corner (some people don't, some people draw by the seat of their pants and it freaks me out). I think that's what keeps me in that scripting phase a little longer, for better and for worse. Like I make a completed script before I start drawing, because writing is so much more flexible than final pages are (and especially on places like Tapas where I can't easily move around pages after their posted, like I still can't change page order. It's a lot.)

So I'm making this one comic right now that I started last NaNoWriMo and I wrote it completely by instinct. It was based on a weird dream I had, and I was watching a friend's cat and staying at their place, I had nothing else to do, so I wrote a script for a comic. I did no research, I just kinda wrote and wrote. But after rewriting it several times, and doing the research, and filling out the gaps in the story to a place I like it, now the comic is in drawing mode. I can still edit the story that hasn't yet been drawn, but once it's on paper...really can't change it without spending a lot of time.

And it's kinda nice? Like to not have to draw and write at the same time? I can turn off the writer side of my brain and just focus on getting the art done, because art is kind of overwhelming and you're juggling a lot of different things under a deadline. It's nice to have the script already done before I draw.

[therosesword]

I like to think that I am an instinctual writer sprinkled with rules here and there to guide my creativity in the right direction.

Instinctual writing doesn't mean not following the "rules" it just means that you can sit down and write naturally without even worrying about them. I've seen (and taught) a few people who stop when they do something and say... can I do that? Is there a rule against it? It's as if the instinctual writer has the rules already embedded in them and then, if she wants to, bends them.

[therosesword]

But with webcomics (which isn't what you're talking about, but I do webcomics so) it's the opposite of flexible. You do something that takes 6+ hours a page and you have an update schedule that's generally to the wire, and I really can't purely rely on instinct anymore, because at some point your instincts will write you into a corner (some people don't, some people draw by the seat of their pants and it freaks me out).

Definitely when you're drawing there's no spewing. LOL

[domisotto]

I just want to write something that people would want to read. So, I prefer not to write instinctually, because I don’t think I am someone who can write something that people would like on my own. I was raised in such an odd place and time, with reading books that are completely different from what the majority of people reads and watches in anime/movies nowadays, that it’s pretty hopeless.

For example, I don’t like a few key writing bests that I would have never known about if I didn’t read books on writing.

I don’t like show vs tell—I actually prefer clever narrator told books, rather than ‘in their shoes, emotional triggers’ delivery of a modern English-language novel.

I love my comparisons. Love them.

And I prefer fast, stand-alone funny pulp-fiction like books to the endless series with drama-angst-suffering.

Instinctually, I would write wrong things, the things that do not have audience.

[cherrystark]

I agree. Learning the "rules" just gave me the words to describe the things I already knew and the patterns I recognize.

[therosesword]

Consider this... you are not the only person liking what you like. If you have a book in your hand that means it got published and you're probably not the only person who bought it.

I write stories that I want to read or hear (that old audio drama background again) and evidently I'm not the only one who likes these stories because I've been fairly successful with them (success being subjective but considering I made my living at it for some time... successful) and these were all stories that I would like to read or hear.

I don't think, "what do people want?" and then write that. That changes with the wind. I used to see that with my screenwriting friends. This month it's rom-coms so they start writing one but then next month the flavor is private detective and their story gets thrown out or they try to change it to a private detective story. And what's worse, if they have something contemporarily hot by the time someone looks at if, if they're lucky enough to get it looked at, everyone's moved on to another genre.

Books that are different? Give House of Leaves a read. Massively popular, not with mainstream Barbara Cartland or John Grishom readers but massively popular and trust me (if you haven't read it) you'll never read anything like it.

[domisotto]

No, it is really that bad. I was raised in a different language, in a country that no longer even exists, and hadn’t existed for a few decades. Despite living in the West for over 20 years, my tastes and literary upbringing are different. Add to this the fact that I like complicated plots with links to precedents in history or intriguing cultural build ups, and the diction issues (because, yes, my family uses words like ‘relentless’ in a normal conversation), and I can only fail.

So, no, I cannot write instinctually, about things that interest me and in a way that is attractive to me.

I can never be published traditionally, because despite being fluid, I am not a native Anglophone, plus I only want (and can) write pulp fiction, so my only chance is to get some reads on the Internet. Which means simple, light style writing and emotionally charged, melodramatic, but simple plots.

And, yes, I tried to write things I like initially, and nobody reads it.

I already have a day job. All I want from writing is to be read. I want to experience an ‘exploding’ book.

[therosesword]

Considering that you have decided that there is no way that you can succeed at all because there are too many things against you, I don't know what to tell you. I'm sorry.

[domisotto]

I can succeed if I work with the rules. That’s why I consciously do not trust my guts, and actually go the other way every time I think ‘oh, this would be cool!’ Usually, the opposite to what I like is true for the majority. I use that.

It’s not that I am some great literary genius. But I am weird, and I am weird and alone unlike people in big minority communities, so I have to correct for that to align with the majority.

[therosesword]

we all do what works best for ourselves

[Leverance]

Personally, I'm a self-taught writer. Everything I've done until now has been by my own hand (unless it's the covers, the graphic artists get all the credits there). My endeavors of over 1K followers and close to 70K reads on Wattpad has been over relentless work -- and even then I didn't felt seen.

Tapas on the other hand has been a completely different experience; my Tapas friends from the server have been of great help and motivation.

When it comes to my writing, I write instinctively, even when English isn't my native language. I sometimes overthink things and correct something into the wrong word when it was right in the first place. Much of what I write comes from the fact that I read a lot as a child and it reflects in my writing.

Personally, my writing goes more into the darker and grittier sides of things since that's what I know best. Happy endings have to be earned by my characters, the villain can be right, the main character can be a deadly goofball. They're of all colors and sizes. I like grey characters, they seem the most human to me, I don't like writing completely good or bad characters. Everyone has a reason for what they do in my stories.

I tend to plan slightly here and there but the rest is up to the characters themselves.

[therosesword]

Largely self taught here too. I've taken a few seminars and usually wandered away from them. I do have some friends who are teachers and one of them said not to take classes I was doing fine so... Just got the basics in grade school and high school. Considering I've made a living at it and gotten a few minor awards, I'll stick to doing this way.

I think the sharing of ideas and methods etc., like what you find here on Tapas, is excellent. It presents different thoughts that let you expand and it presents thoughts that make you sit back and say "no way in hell."

Definitely there with you on the characters taking over. A few plans, a few knowing (sometimes) how I want something to end but most of the time: George meet Joe, Joe meet George go have an adventure.

[Leverance]

I've taken a year of Literature course in Folk School (is a year you can study what you like or have an interest in). I sometimes do tense mistakes but it's mostly because I confuse languages (I know Spanish and Norwegian on top of English). I've never participated in awards offline and all those English competitions usually are in England and I live in Norway.

I'm paranoid about sharing my ideas unless are people I actually trust. I roleplay on Twitter aside from my writing and popular writers have stolen my concepts before. Leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

I relate! I've got a vague timeline and let the characters fill out the rest, that way the readers won't feel they're acting out of character and they still follow my timeline.

[nathanKmcwilliams]

I'm 100% an instinct writer. And also with my drawings as well, I follow my instincts. I rarely sit down and think about composition, it kinda just springs to the page as I draw.

Probably gonna sound like a brag...but I'm pretty strong in the ways of winging it.

[therosesword]

Oh I never share my ideas or concepts until the story is complete. One exception is my Dead Souls Doing the Samba. I shared that with Dirk Maggs who just finished the Sandman adaptation with Neil Gaiman, but I trust him through all our other audio drama connections. He's the one who encouraged me to write it.

Competitions are... meh. I only did them because they look good on a resume if you win or place. The problem is so many people write just for that and never do anything after. Silly.

Tense mistakes? LOLOL I've got a beta reader that is very good at holding his temper... lol. been there, done that, will be there many many many times more I'm sure.

[therosesword]

Not a brag at all. I look at the list of things I have posted here and they're all instinct. One of them got published in a small online mag recently and the editor is pretty picky. Anything I've every had good luck with has always been something that was instinct. Everyone has a different way of working. The few times i've tried to plot and lay things out has ended up with stilted, stiff work. But... that's me. My strongest work has all been winged, even the one that just got optioned for a screenplay.

Write hard, write true.

[Leverance]

I give them a small inkling of what the idea is lol I don't give them the whole package. Plus I constantly update the storyline until I'm content, after that, I write a summary and begin looking for a cover. Often, a summary gets rewritten close to ten times before it goes public (but I'm pretty content with His Obsession summary).

If I won enough competitions I would put them in resumes if I decide to go to Trad Pub lol. I would at least use them for something.

You've got a Beta Reader, I don't have any XD I plan to ask a friend, though.

[therosesword]

Re: Beta reader, get one that's kind but ruthless. I have three (depends on their schedules) one of them will send it back with "you're better than this, fix it" and not another word!

Because I still have a minor rep in the audio world I try to keep a resume up to date, although I'm not much interested in writing audio drama anymore. Unless $$$ get waved in front of me.

It's foolish (in my opinion) to write a summary until you're done. Or at least 90 to 99.9% done. When I was working film I hated having to come up with a 25 word logline. Unfortunately my brain still kind of churns those out. They're the worst, absolute worst.