5AM StoryTalk’s Weekly Question is about you this time around. But I’m going to need your help to make it work. Let me explain…
I'm launching a new feature here. It's a simple concept, really. I take your more important questions about the arts and ask my professional artist friends to weigh in about them.
As I abhor how-to guides about things like screenwriting or writing or whatever, I thought it would be more helpful to have those working at various stages of their careers weigh in. Sort of a plurality of ideas/wisdom on any given subject/question. You, in turn, glean whatever you want from their experience.
Now, it's time for you to tell me: What are you struggling with as an artist that you’d like to know more about?
Please note, there are no limits to the number of questions you can suggest. I'll collate similar ones from here and elsewhere, to help identify those that people want to hear about the most. If I don't get to your question, apologies. Not every one of them will work for this feature.
Crying Girl (1963) by Roy Lichtenstein; color offset lithograph on lightweight, off-white wove paper
Thank you for doing this, Cole. I'd like to ask about outlining as opposed to pantsing a story. I suppose I'm primarily interested in fiction, but I imagine thoughts regarding how screenplays are written would be informative all the same. How much do most writers outline and how much do they improvise during the course of bringing that outline to life?
Thank you for doing this, Cole. I'd like to ask about outlining as opposed to pantsing a story. I suppose I'm primarily interested in fiction, but I imagine thoughts regarding how screenplays are written would be informative all the same. How much do most writers outline and how much do they improvise during the course of bringing that outline to life?