Rules? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Rules

The only hard and fast rule I adhere to when it comes to writing is the one that says there are no hard and fast rules. Oh, I know, you belong to a critique group and they spout hard and fast writing rules every week or you bought the latest HOW TO WRITE book and spent three weeks committing all those "have tos" and "You better NEVERs!" to memory.

Here's the rub and I promise it will drive you crazy. The next best-selling novel will come out and everyone at work, church, and school, as well as all those talking heads on television will be telling you how fabulous and flawless it is. You'll rush out to buy it, thinking an example of perfection is just what you need to drive all those little writing rules deep into your sub-conscious.

Uh-oh. What's this? You discover the author has broken every rule you struggled to learn You could tear this book apart fifteen ways based on what you know. But the reality is this writer will make millions by the time the paperback and movie contracts are signed. So what did you do wrong?
Nothing. The truth is the rules are in place for very good reasons and most of the time you will never break into today's tight fiction market unless you can be trusted to color within the lines. Later, things could change. I remember college instructors telling me I could not break the rules until I understood them. That made little sense at the time but now it does. Once in a while we have a scene or a situation where breaking the rules is the only way to write it.

Occasionally a fresh and dazzling new writer comes along with viewpoint or characters so unique and charming that editors forget every rule they've been preaching to the masses. Why? Because the writer is fresh and dazzling. Because that character or viewpoint so enamors and challenges and compels, no one cares about the silly rules.

Writing is all about sweeping readers into a world where they identify, 'feel' and take up temporary residence. It is not about the rules. Never has been. The rules are there for the same reason we have stripes on highways and warning signs on winding roads. They are there to keep us safe. All of us. Writers and readers. But don't we all love an Evel Knievel?

The Mustard Tree and Treasure Leaf Publishing are always looking for good manuscripts. I'll spend a lot of time trying to teach you to practice safe writing and stay within the lines but I don't ever want to squelch a budding genius. Learn the rules. Take time to know how to write. There are many rules as you have probably already learned. "Was" and "Feel" and similar words can render your work passive and it is difficult to sweep readers (willingly) into a passive world. Adverbs (those worlds ending in ...ly) scream, "Look at me," and therefore slow the read and tire the reader.

People don't identify with main characters who are cruel, flawed and criminal. We want to root for wide-eyed innocents like Cinderella and underdogs like Seabiscuit and jockey Red Pollard. We love stories where we see ourselves, where justice prevails and all the bad guys end up getting exactly what they deserve.

In future columns I'll be talking about variations when writing for the Christian market and even more specifically for Treasure Leaf Publishing. The few rules I have mentioned here are just the tip of the iceberg. (Side bar, don't use expressions like the 'tip of the iceberg' because they are considered trite) No matter what I say and what I teach, if your story is compelling and your critique group hangs on every word and forgets to refer you to rules 40, 280 or 763, you just keep writing. And when you are ready to submit don't forget to give us a go at it.

Rules have a place in good writing. Most of the time they are worth their weight in gold (trite again!) and you should respect them. But trust your instincts. Know the rules and require a very good reason before you break them. But mostly, follow your heart, embrace your talent and just start writing.

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