C.J. Hribal – How to Really Ruin a Story (January 1991)

“Intentionality,” says C.J. Hribal, “is almost the antithesis of imagination.” Writers can nevertheless be prone to exerting their will over a story through over-planning, over-explanation, being in thrall to ideology or imitation, and so on. Hribal explores these self-defeating tactics, and urges us to be “as willing to be story followers as storytellers,” trusting in the power of the imagination.