What is Greatness
It's funny, I'm reading the Dark Tower series and find myself constantly in awe of King's brilliance. However, as I admire his work another name comes to mind: James Patterson. This is not because I see these two men as the pinnacle of literary greatness (though they obviously should be included in that conversation)but more as foils in style.
What I've learned from King, in his memoir/writer's guide book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft is that he allows the story to write itself. Even at the end of The Waste Lands in the author's notes section he goes on about how he didn't see this novel ending where it did and it came as much of a surprise to him as his readers. His brand is allowing his mind to tell the story and his process is to not get in his own way while writing it. This is far different from what I've learned about James Patterson's process in his master class.
Patterson stresses that writers who go into a novel without a detailed plan are doomed to write themselves into a corner they can't escape. He swears by an outline, and not just an outline, but a detailed outline. One of the perks of his master class is he supplies all his students with a copy of his original outline for Honeymoon. What one sees is an incredibly intricate chapter by chapter breakdown. There isn't one detail forgotten. Patterson says this offers the writer the opportunity to work on a project without the pressure of ever staring down a blank page. He emphasizes how important it is for him to know exactly what it is he's going to be writing that day and this process eliminates writer's block.
Two prolific authors, two incredibly different philosophies. It got me thinking that the key to greatness is not necessarily finding the "great template," but rather perfecting the style that fits you. I know this in itself isn't a profound comment and others have said it before me, but I'm writing this blog because I have finally had that moment where I truly believe it.
When it comes to anything in life it's not about trying to find the perfect way to do it, but rather working on doing it your way perfectly.
What I've learned from King, in his memoir/writer's guide book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft is that he allows the story to write itself. Even at the end of The Waste Lands in the author's notes section he goes on about how he didn't see this novel ending where it did and it came as much of a surprise to him as his readers. His brand is allowing his mind to tell the story and his process is to not get in his own way while writing it. This is far different from what I've learned about James Patterson's process in his master class.
Patterson stresses that writers who go into a novel without a detailed plan are doomed to write themselves into a corner they can't escape. He swears by an outline, and not just an outline, but a detailed outline. One of the perks of his master class is he supplies all his students with a copy of his original outline for Honeymoon. What one sees is an incredibly intricate chapter by chapter breakdown. There isn't one detail forgotten. Patterson says this offers the writer the opportunity to work on a project without the pressure of ever staring down a blank page. He emphasizes how important it is for him to know exactly what it is he's going to be writing that day and this process eliminates writer's block.
Two prolific authors, two incredibly different philosophies. It got me thinking that the key to greatness is not necessarily finding the "great template," but rather perfecting the style that fits you. I know this in itself isn't a profound comment and others have said it before me, but I'm writing this blog because I have finally had that moment where I truly believe it.
When it comes to anything in life it's not about trying to find the perfect way to do it, but rather working on doing it your way perfectly.
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