Can’t finish your draft? Perfecting your outline for months? Staring at a blank page afraid you’ll write something bad?
These look like different problems, but they’re all the same issue: you’re focused on outcomes instead of process.
This episode reveals why you’re stuck, shows you how to convert paralyzing questions into productive ones, and gives you a concrete action plan to get unstuck.
You don’t need more courage or discipline. You need to ask different questions.
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Episode at a glance:
[02:56] Outcome-Based Thinking
When you focus on outcome, you’re doing what the acting coach Benjamin Mathis calls “plating the dish.” When chefs prepare a meal, first they source their ingredients. Then they prepare the ingredients: wash, chop, and measure. Then they cook the meal, and finally after the cooking is done they plate the dish for presentation.
But here’s what happens if you plate too early; the food loses its integrity. You prioritized how it looked over how it tasted, and now it’s beautiful, but it’s inedible.
When you ask things like, Is this good enough?while you’re still drafting, you’re plating the dish – you’re trying to evaluate the finished product before you’ve sourced and prepared your ingredients and cooked the meal.
Just like food that’s plated too soon, your work will lose integrity. The momentum dies. You can’t move forward because you’re focused on presentation when you should be focused on writing.
[05:45] How To Convert Outcome Questions Into More Generative Process Questions
Outcome Question: Is this boring?
Process Question: What’s happening in this scene? What does my character want right now in this scene?
Outcome Question: Is my protagonist likable enough? Will anyone care about him?
Process Question: What does my protagonist care about? What are they afraid of? How are they getting in their own way?
Outcome Question: Will readers understand this? Will they get it?
Process Question: What information does the reader have at this point in the story? What information should they have? What do they need? What can I withhold?
Outcome questions send you spiraling into anxiety because it can’t be answered yet, and they’re not serving you at this stage of the writing process.
[06:46] The Value Of Process Questions
Process questions give you something concrete to work with right now – something to work towards. They give you answers based on what your vision of your story is. Each answer leads you to the next question, which leads to another answer, and you make progress without ever stopping to judge whether the work is good enough.
Link Mentioned In This Episode
FREE Guide: 10 Questions Writers Ask (And What to Do Next)
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