On the 22nd November I met with Andrew Chiang. A man with such a deep history of storytelling that a two hour talk seemed to dissolve into a whirlwind of pure passion that made the metaphorical hands on my digital watch tick faster by the second.
It was nice. Heartwarming. Something I wish I could've had more of.
Andrew started off writing comedy. His inspiration stretching from all the best hits of his time; from Cheers and M.A.S.H to the Goon Show on BBC. His experience of writing jokes evolved into storytelling at a broader level especially as he entered the foray of sitcom writing. The process, as he put it, of writing a joke is similar to storytelling. In a story you're looking to make an impact with a build up in a similar manner as a joke is with its punchline.
But perhaps the most insightful thing I picked up from our talk was what he said as a summation of storytelling;
"All stories are problem solving"
This quote really struck me as it was a stand I hadn't considered and was precisely the reason I wanted this talk in the first place. Andrew posed that all stories are about solving a problem, whether it's a series of problems or one big one at the end. In that each scene of your writing must in some way be a challenge to your character and that as an indication of a compelling story, the character and the problems of your story must be wrapped in an idea.
He mentioned how each story has to be about an idea. That every story starts in the abstract or evolves within the abstract and to tie it down is where the structure comes in; the skeleton of the idea.
Andrew also touched on how he planned his stories. The old debate between planning and pantsing, was in Andrew's head, settled. "Planning, without a doubt. I tried pantsing, it didn't work." Andrew said. When discussing the planning, he also brought up some advice when it came to planning that could only come from a man with as much as experience as he. He mentioned how the planning never stopped, in that you would outline, write and then treat.
This was a point I thought made a lot of sense and seemed to line up with a lot of my own experiences in planning. A story is never completed. The writing process and the planning process are one in the same, where the idea of winging it is or planning it is far from binary. To write a good story requires a process of severe gray area. It's good to plan but it's also good to wing the planning. Nothings concrete.
Overall my talk with Andrew really was an experience worth even twice my time. The insights of a veteran of storytelling were as incisive and deep as expected.
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