Day: June 1, 2023

Is all writing formula? Surprisingly, nobody has ever asked me that question, but it is one I ask myself constantly. With methods like the 120 beats, the three act structure, the hero’s journey, the alchemical method, and more, it is easy to deconstruct stories and series and pick out the formulaic bits with ease. Obviously all writing is not formula, but so much of it i that when you see a thing that breaks the formula you notice it–maybe even call it experimental.

So, does that make formula a bad thing? Not really, no. Formula is a useful way to construct a tale so long as you are not sticking to the book step for step and you are telling character-driven stories that feature story worthy individuals who change over the course of your tale. Think of the formula as the backdrop on which the story is written, and feel confident enough to deviate when you see fit as a writer.

You can also look at formula as a way to figure out what is missing in a story that feels like it does have holes. I’ve been using the beats for this latest novel as a way to recognize what I am missing in it. There is definitely something missing, and I’ve been able to get on to the scent of what by going back through it and figuring out what beats I didn’t hit when I wrote it up initially.

That’s the last part: Write freely first. You will find that these formulas are often skeletal in nature and what you do naturally often fits neatly into their framework. This is why it is effective for me to go back and look at a beat sheet after the fact and fill in blanks. I’m not writing to the beats but using them as a way to understand structure and what readers unconsciously seek out in story.

I’ve been invited to the Madden closed beta for Madden 24 franchise mode, ostensibly as an apology for how badly I got screwed twice in losing franchises to a bug in the system. This is a positive step forward (and an easy one) for Madden, because it allows the people who love franchise mode and were most impacted by how crappy it is to provide serious feedback on the game mode as it is prepared for a new season. It also gives me one heck of a jumpstart on understanding any new mechanics to be developed. I want to love franchise mode. I want to have the experience of managing a team from an owner’s or General Manager’s (this is not an option as a stand alone mode right now, but it could be) perspective. I want deeper control in the draft process as well as in the contracting process.

All of this has me thinking about the NY Giants and the choices left to be made in real life. One huge choice is how to deal with the Leonard Williams contract, which ends after this upcoming season. I bring this up because the contract contains a void year, which, if you didn’t read the article at the other end of the link, means it isn’t a real contract but a cap hit that accrues regardless of whether the man plays for the Giants in 24 or not. If we don’t resign, we still have a 6 million dollar cap hit. If we DO resign, we have the 6 million hit PLUS whatever hit is based on the contract. This is a very difficult thing to work into a video game, but I wish they would try to do better with understanding and interpreting the cap stuff. Right now it is basic. It isn’t as bad as the draft stuff.

The draft stuff is basically what happened when EA’s NFL team got a hold of EA’s CFB team’s notes and copied them. The setup feels like college and doesn’t reflect the complexity of the NFL scouting system, how private visits (there are 30+) and other phases of the process work. I want it to work. I want franchise to actually feel like we are building something and how we choose to build truly impacts the game. I want teamwork settings. I want it to feel like I have a larger role in developing an organization than setting box seat prices and finding a 99 speed WR post draft.