"If I were given nothing but the tool of ‘Here’s the theme. Write something with this theme,’ that’s an impossible task for me. I can’t start a story with that. I can figure out later on, after I’ve written a story, what the theme is." EXACTLY. It is not math. It is not theme > logline > synopsis > treatment. Man, those books hurt me for a looong time. PS: Bird Box is a hell of a screenplay with a big thematic core. One of my favorites from last Black List, btw.

Carlos, "those books" have hurt a LOT of writers for LOOOONG time. Structure is great, but anything which restricts creativity is bad news. My advice: Engage your characters and let them lead you into and through the story-crafting process.

It was an extreme relief to read what Eric Heisserer said about starting a story without knowing the theme. Theme is something that I struggle with, and I didn't have a good feeling about starting my latest script without one. But then I realized half way in, that it had been in there all along, I just needed to go through the writing process to pull it out of my head.

amesy, it's one of the reasons I recommend reading interviews with writers: If a writer is being pushed to write one way, but just doesn't feel it, I guarantee you can discover in the thoughts of other writers something that resonates more with your own instincts. There is no right way to write. Only YOUR way. We can pick up wisdom from any writer we read, hear, or see. And that's great. But ultimately it is about finding your own path, one that works, and doing that!