🌲 Writing to Formula: Beyond Plotting vs. Pantsing

Writing to formula using an outline that follows pre-canned benchmarks like in the hero's journey is like using a compass to draw a circle.

Guernica by Picasso, 1937, Museo Reina Sofia

A fellow author in my writing group recommended a guest lecture by Mary Robinette Kowal to me.  I enjoyed it enough to actually do the exercise, which is about the MICE quotient of a story and try/fail cycles.