I think good writers do even more than direct. Among other things, they have to hear and create a musical score and do the kind of casting that can make or break the experience.

I also think your last comparison is sound. I suspect lots of writers have élitist aspirations, looking down their noses at the millions of readers who buy best selling series and at the writers who make their living satisfying those readers. (I have an author friend who assumed Dan Brown must be rubbish because he sold so many books and claimed to be writing ‘facts’ and who couldn’t understand why JK Rowling was so popular, given that her books were ‘easy enough’ for kids to read.) They’re the kind of writers who, if they were directors, would probably be happier if their film became a cult classic rather than a blockbuster. I guess in a lot of cases writers fail to make lots of money because it clashes with their real goal of becoming a ….. fill in the blanks….author.

In Larry’s Six Core Competencies, there’s a mix of art and technique; none of the competencies are purely artistic and none are purely technique.

The “easy” way to distinguish between technique and art is that technique can be drilled until it becomes a standard tool which will give you a known result. This is putting in the story structure, constructing a scene and so on. It’s also knowing your authoring tools, such as Word, so well you don’t even have to think about how to do something.

The art or creativity cannot be drilled because it results in a different end product each time — which is really a good thing.

A director (or you as an author in this case) knows his available techniques cold. He might not know every last detail about lighting, cinematography, etc., but knows enough that he can request a certain result from the appropriate branch. The art lies in defining what result he wants and when.

Create first. Create high. Ramp up that story concept so high it gets scorched by 10,000 stars. Now you figure out how to make the techniques you have available communicate that concept so you give your readers a powerful emotional experience.

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” Jack London