Malik
Auror
I would advise people to stop worrying about anything formulaic, and work on substantive content. Work on using the right word, on creating identifiable characters, on taking an old idea and spit-polishing it so that it appears new, on creating an immersive world, on your comedic mind (everyone needs a laugh once in a while), on your dramatic heart, and, finally, creating a great story.
Also this.
That said, I want to throw a rock at the nest.
Writing is an academic pursuit. It's research and experimentation and then documenting what you've found.
You absolutely have to, have to, HAVE TO understand the rules of the language first. You have to know what the traditionally accepted norms are in your chosen genre, and you have to understand the craft of writing enough to understand why those norms exist. You don't have to adhere to them. But you have to know them. You have to know when you're going over them. (EDIT: If you don't understand why you need to know this, then you really need to learn all of this. Immediately. Drop everything and start researching.)
Studying composition feels like digging ditches. It sucks. So does literary analysis and deconstruction, both of which, to me, feel like looking backstage at Disneyland and seeing guys pushing mops and dumpsters around, and someone in a Mickey suit smoking a cigarette with the head under his arm. But you have to go there if you want to work there.
Work on your prose. Write until your fingers bleed. Find your voice. But do your homework or you'll waste years.
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