The DNA of Writing

There's something that almost every writer thinks when they first start out. And they're all wrong.

I thought it too.

That thing is some variation of "I won't take writing classes or read how-to books because I don't want my writing to be tainted. I refuse to become a boring formula writer."

Luckily, it doesn't work that way.

Novels are like DNA.

DNA is made up of pairs of nucleotides. There are only four of them. C, G, A, and T.

To make things even more restricted, C can only pair up with G. T can only pair up with A.

This might seem quite useless. What can you do with only two different pairs?

Yet, every single living creature on this planet is made from DNA. From amoebas to the billions of individual humans, all of them are built out of CG and TA pairs.

Kinda blows your mind, doesn't it?

Writing isn't so different. There are only a few building blocks to work with. You can't do anything useful without them, and all of them have been used before. But there are literally billions of possible combinations.

Painters become better at painting when they learn how to use different kinds of brushes for different effects.

Chefs become better at cooking when they learn how to use a new spice.

Musicians can't compose if they don't know the notes.

So don't be afraid of learning about the craft of writing. Read books. Follow blogs. Take classes. Learn what those building blocks are. (Luckily we have more than two.) They'll only help.