Writing an outline is like solving a maze in a newspaper. You're looking down from an omniscient vantage point and tracing various routes to find the one that leads you to the end; or to the beginning if you prefer to work backwards.
Writing without an outline is like trying to solve a maze from within. You may travel down blind alleys with no exit, and you must be willing to back up and return the way you came.
Neither way is necessarily superior to the other. Both could theoretically lead one to the exact same screenplay.
The problem with writing from within the maze is that mazes can be both frustrating and terrifying. You might spend two weeks fumbling down a blind alley only to realize that there is no way out. No way to tell your story from this direction, which could mean throwing away dozens of pages, several characters, and days or weeks of dialogue. This might discourage the writer from completing the screenplay, or worse, he may try to punch a hole through that dead-end alley into yet more dead end alleys until the script is thoroughly eviscerated. The writer will betray his premise, his craft, and possibly his future as a screenwriter.
However, writing from within the maze also holds some of the greatest rewards. A writer is less likely to write a predictable scene if she herself doesn't know where the scene is headed. Writing from within the maze is also a great way to get inspired and energized when you feel put upon, bored with the craft, or even blocked.
All in all I suppose it doesn’t matter what route you take, as long as you get to The End.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
