I was reading an article the other day about how Blake Snyder’s “Save the Cat” is destroying creativity in the world of movies. Seems to me that fifteen years ago it was how Chris Vogler’s “The Writer’s Journey” was doing much the same thing (and before that Joseph Campbell’s “Hero with a Thousand Faces.”)
The passionate online responses were, to my thinking, a little over the top. Reading a book is not the same as being sold into slavery. Learning a new way to think about your creative projects doesn’t mean you must recant all your previous ideas.
Maybe a couple short stories:
There once was a man whose only tool was a hammer. To him everything looked like a nail. (that was a really short story, eh?)
There once was a property owner who hired the man with the hammer to build her a house. It didn’t turn out so good. Her neighbor engaged a contractor who promised a wonderful house – cathedral ceilings, bay windows, spacious closets. She didn’t know her contractor believed time spent mastering his tools would stifle his creative vision. That house turned out worse.
The passionate online responses were, to my thinking, a little over the top. Reading a book is not the same as being sold into slavery. Learning a new way to think about your creative projects doesn’t mean you must recant all your previous ideas.
Maybe a couple short stories:
There once was a man whose only tool was a hammer. To him everything looked like a nail. (that was a really short story, eh?)
There once was a property owner who hired the man with the hammer to build her a house. It didn’t turn out so good. Her neighbor engaged a contractor who promised a wonderful house – cathedral ceilings, bay windows, spacious closets. She didn’t know her contractor believed time spent mastering his tools would stifle his creative vision. That house turned out worse.
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