Mrs Whatsit: “How can I explain it to you? Oh, I know. In your language you have a form of poetry called the sonnet.”
…
Mrs. Whatsit: “It is a very strict form of poetry, is it not?”
Calvin: “Yes.”
Mrs. Whatsit: “There are fourteen lines, I believe, all in iambic pentameter. That’s a very strict rhythm or meter, yes?”
“Yes.” Calvin nodded.
“And each line has to end with a rigid rhyme pattern. And if the poet does not do it exactly this way, it is not a sonnet, is it?”
Calvin: “No.”
Mrs Whatsit: “But within this strict form the poet has complete freedom to say whatever he wants, doesn’t he?”
...from L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time"--a conversation about constraints that REALLY stuck with me.
Also, one of the most powerful things about stories is that it helps READERS to solve problems--not by reading stories until they arrive at one where the main character has the exact same problem as they do, but by watching someone else solve a problem and eventually... working out their own problem on their own. (Not sure whether the "brotherhood of people trying to do hard things" fellow-feeling of camraderie that they might feel with the character who they're watching solve problems or the "oh. you could DO that?!" surprise at seeing what the character does is more powerful for most people.)
So, of course, if you have the author "in the same boat" as well--alongside the main character and alongside an "in the market for solving problems" reader--struggling to resolve a problem within a story--that's even better!! And I would say that the FACT of the author taking on a difficult problem that he or she struggled to resolve... frequently GENERATES evidence of that hard work. But maybe we look at the outputs and simply see "a very good story." Which is quite enough. (:
> "I've tried to write novels. I haven't finished any of them... but I've gotten an inside view of at least part of that creative process."
I feel like the gift of getting the "inside view of the creative process" is a really awesome one too. Not one I had planned on or expected when I began writing fiction.
Excellently put! I see the same constraint-driven creativity at work in music all the time. The vinyl album was limited to about 20-25 minutes per side; this forced a very particular flow, dynamic, and structure to albums released in the vinyl era, gave birth to progressive rock's favorite form — the sidelong epic — and restricted the shape and size of albums (there were no continuous hourlong compositions in album-era rock, unlike in the classical symphonic era or today's streaming scene).
Indeed, I would almost say that for a work of art to be successful, it MUST bump into the limits of some sort of constraint. Absolute creative freedom is something we mortals don't know what to do with.
Constraints force you to find creative solutions to problems. For my work-in-progress novel, I want my protagonist to be a morally good person; she won't lie and cheat like the others at her school. That means she has to be clever to get ahead, which has the positive effect of making her smart and resourceful. It also means *I* have to be clever in writing her, so that's the cost - but I'm betting it's worth it.
Peter Jackson was originally contracted to make a two-movie adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, not three. He wrote the script with this in mind, paring it down to its very essentials. Then they decided to increase funding and allow him the space he needed. But the fact that the script had been mercilessly reduced was a huge boon in the end, because it meant the core of the story was rock-solid and they were able to add in some additional embellishments with the extra time. That's why the finished movies feel sleek and perfectly paced while also having a lush sense of worldbuilding. (https://www.polygon.com/lord-of-the-rings/22283921/peter-jackson-movies-lotr-alternate-versions-weinstein for more on this).
Mrs Whatsit: “How can I explain it to you? Oh, I know. In your language you have a form of poetry called the sonnet.”
…
Mrs. Whatsit: “It is a very strict form of poetry, is it not?”
Calvin: “Yes.”
Mrs. Whatsit: “There are fourteen lines, I believe, all in iambic pentameter. That’s a very strict rhythm or meter, yes?”
“Yes.” Calvin nodded.
“And each line has to end with a rigid rhyme pattern. And if the poet does not do it exactly this way, it is not a sonnet, is it?”
Calvin: “No.”
Mrs Whatsit: “But within this strict form the poet has complete freedom to say whatever he wants, doesn’t he?”
...from L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time"--a conversation about constraints that REALLY stuck with me.
Also, one of the most powerful things about stories is that it helps READERS to solve problems--not by reading stories until they arrive at one where the main character has the exact same problem as they do, but by watching someone else solve a problem and eventually... working out their own problem on their own. (Not sure whether the "brotherhood of people trying to do hard things" fellow-feeling of camraderie that they might feel with the character who they're watching solve problems or the "oh. you could DO that?!" surprise at seeing what the character does is more powerful for most people.)
So, of course, if you have the author "in the same boat" as well--alongside the main character and alongside an "in the market for solving problems" reader--struggling to resolve a problem within a story--that's even better!! And I would say that the FACT of the author taking on a difficult problem that he or she struggled to resolve... frequently GENERATES evidence of that hard work. But maybe we look at the outputs and simply see "a very good story." Which is quite enough. (:
> "I've tried to write novels. I haven't finished any of them... but I've gotten an inside view of at least part of that creative process."
I feel like the gift of getting the "inside view of the creative process" is a really awesome one too. Not one I had planned on or expected when I began writing fiction.
Excellently put! I see the same constraint-driven creativity at work in music all the time. The vinyl album was limited to about 20-25 minutes per side; this forced a very particular flow, dynamic, and structure to albums released in the vinyl era, gave birth to progressive rock's favorite form — the sidelong epic — and restricted the shape and size of albums (there were no continuous hourlong compositions in album-era rock, unlike in the classical symphonic era or today's streaming scene).
Indeed, I would almost say that for a work of art to be successful, it MUST bump into the limits of some sort of constraint. Absolute creative freedom is something we mortals don't know what to do with.
Constraints force you to find creative solutions to problems. For my work-in-progress novel, I want my protagonist to be a morally good person; she won't lie and cheat like the others at her school. That means she has to be clever to get ahead, which has the positive effect of making her smart and resourceful. It also means *I* have to be clever in writing her, so that's the cost - but I'm betting it's worth it.
Peter Jackson was originally contracted to make a two-movie adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, not three. He wrote the script with this in mind, paring it down to its very essentials. Then they decided to increase funding and allow him the space he needed. But the fact that the script had been mercilessly reduced was a huge boon in the end, because it meant the core of the story was rock-solid and they were able to add in some additional embellishments with the extra time. That's why the finished movies feel sleek and perfectly paced while also having a lush sense of worldbuilding. (https://www.polygon.com/lord-of-the-rings/22283921/peter-jackson-movies-lotr-alternate-versions-weinstein for more on this).