Logical vs. Intuitive Writing

For the record, I hate the left-brained/right-brained terminology. It’s not scientifically accurate. While there are some brain functions that are legitimately hosted in one hemisphere (language, for example), the pop culture tropes of left brained logic and right brain creativity have been greatly overstated. So I'll refer to these concepts going forward as intuitive vs. logical writing. 

When I first started writing, my writing process was quite intuitive. I'd daydream on my way to work about what happens next. Scenes would appear in my head and I’d write them down.  It was all very unstructured, free, and fun.

I soon found though, that intuitive writing couldn't get me to the finish line. To get past plot holes and the murky middle, I needed analytical writing techniques like outlining, plot structure, and analyzing other books for their component parts. As I became more experienced as professional writer, I got better deploying these tools, and I think mastering these tools made up much of my growth as a writer. It wasn't that I encountered fewer problems with my drafts as I gained experience, I just better knew the steps I could take to solve them.

Worth noting here: one thing that greatly developed my logical writing skills was working on IP projects like Feather and Flame. Instead of acting like an artist with a song to sing, I became a craftsman constructing a story for my client. Need romance? I know just the right swoony moments to add. Need tension? Here are five ways to raise the stakes.

Lately, though, I’ve found myself relying too much on these logical tools. For example, I was brainstorming a picture book a while back with a coauthor. Armed with a topic, I immediately jumped into generating story ideas. Once I had the story ideas, I built them out using my usual processes. The story ideas were fine, but they didn’t sparkle. Then my coauthor suggested a new story direction, and this one immediately spoke to me. It had heart in the way that the others didn't, and I immediately knew that was the way to go.

The same thing happened recently while brainstorming my adult fantasy. I started out with a few recycled plotlines from shelved manuscripts and dutifully started organizing it into a synopsis. But again, I didn’t feel that spark of excitement. It was only when I reread the shelved manuscript, that I rediscovered the missing element — a concept I had cut out to fit the new world building. I added the concept back in, adapted to fit the new world, and suddenly my muse returned.

These experiences remind me that I can’t ignore the intuitive, emotional part of my writing, especially at the beginning of the creative process. My stories work best when they start with a spark that excites me — an image, a concept, a plot twist, an emotion that sustains me and draws in my readers. Granted, the magic almost always fades halfway through writing, and then you have to muscle your way to the end. But I can’t use my ability to muscle through the doldrums as an excuse to start a project without a spark in the first place.

So how do I stay in touch with that creative, fun side of writing?  Dreams. Phone free time. Morning pages. Daydreaming in bed. Reading other books. Changing my surroundings. Freewriting. New experiences. Music. Paying attention to the things I love. Keeping inspiration lists. 

I need to make time in my creative and professional life for these practices.

Are you an intuitive or logical writer? At what stages do you tilt one way or the other?

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