By Anne R. Allen
Ruth and I write this blog to give back to the writing community we’ve lived and worked in for many decades. We offer warnings about scams, plus tips and helpful suggestions for writing fiction and creative nonfiction that contemporary readers will want to buy.
We say “we made the mistakes so you don’t have to.” ????
But that doesn’t mean we know everything. Or that we’re never wrong. We’re still out here making mistakes. Making mistakes is how people learn, and creative people should always be learning.
You can come to us for pretty solid advice about what are accepted standards in writing contemporary prose.
If you follow basic guidelines, we think you’ll have a better chance of being successfully published than if you jump blindly onto the query-go-round or indie publishing with a manuscript full of head hopping, long, adverb-heavy descriptions, flashbacks within flashbacks, Tom Swifty dialogue tags, and other reader pet peeves.
Breakthrough Novels Break Writing Rules
But the truth is that one of the most successful novels of the decade breaks pretty much all the “writing rules” we learned in Creative Writing 101. Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing (Soon to be a major motion picture) is kind of a perfect example of “how not to write a novel.”
There’s head-hopping, long paragraphs of description, numerous flashbacks, and even a “Magical Negro” to save the day. Plus there are an abundance of clichés in story and characterization.
And guess what? Readers do not care.
It’s a great story with a protagonist so compelling, readers can’t help feeling personally involved in what happens to her.
Clichés Exist for a Reason
People also like it because the story consists of cozy, familiar tropes. As writing students, we were taught that nothing is worse than a tired old cliché. But clichéd stories are well-worn because people like them.
The truth is, most people prefer what’s familiar. There’s comfort in knowing where a story is going. We welcome each familiar twist with delight.
Think about how people prefer reading books in a series. That means there are lots of recurring characters. And the assumption is that the main characters won’t die in the middle of the book. Stephanie Plum may be in terrible danger, but we can be pretty sure she’s going to survive, because well, it’s a Stephanie Plum mystery and we know there are more to follow.
Does that take away from our enjoyment of Janet Evanovich’s books? Not one bit.
How many of us are spending some of the Christmas season wallowing in those Hallmark Christmas movies that tell the story of a successful big-city career woman who returns to her hometown and falls in love with the gruff blue-collar guy with a heart of gold? And a dog. There must be a dog. And snow. They must have that first kiss in the snow.
We’d be disappointed if the film left out any of these tropes.
Familiar stories are like that box of Christmas ornaments from Grandma that you pull out every year and greet as old friends while you hang them on the tree. Each one has a story that’s old and worn, but still beloved.
The Most Popular Novels are a Mix of Old and New
I think Where the Crawdads Sing taps into a place in the collective unconscious that pulls the reader in like a familiar voice or the scent of home.
As much as the book annoyed me as a writing teacher, after I’ve read dozens of other books over the past two years, scenes from Crawdads are still vivid in my memory. I think that’s because the story was a mix of familiar and new. I was reading a familiar story at the seme time I was learning fascinating things about a particular ecosystem as well as getting to know a wonderfully plucky, clever character.
Is there a formula here a writer could follow to produce another blockbuster novel like Crawdads? Is there a template for the ideal novel that has the right mix of pulpy and literary writing, plus familiar and new storytelling?
Not likely.
And this is exactly why formulas and tips and writing rules are only useful up to a point. After that, it’s all alchemy. There’s some kind of “magic” that makes one book more compelling than all similar books, and nobody can explain it. Not even the author. Maybe especially the author.
Why Writing Rules Are Made to be Broken
Ruth and I give advice to writers that we’ve found helpful in our own careers. We try to help you write the best stories you can — ones that will reach readers with your message, and maybe even make some money. (Yes, publishing is a business, so filthy lucre is involved.)
But sometimes the rules get silly. People start following them for their own sake, forgetting that the main goal is to entertain the reader, not to please some writing teacher in your head.
As I’ve said before, rules sometimes don’t make sense.
Some of my unfavorite writing rules:
- All adverbs and adjectives needlessly overburden your deathless prose.
- When the passive voice is used, your writing is considered bad.
- There are no reasons to use the verb “to be.”
- Don’t use contractions.
- Sentence fragments: bad!
- Never use a preposition to end a sentence with.
Okay, I’m being a little silly here. But the point is, writing rules are never one-size fits all. And they are not carved in stone or issued by the Almighty. They are at best guidelines — tips to help you control your story, not laws to control you.
The truth is, we need to learn the rules so we can break them. What fun is it to break a rule if you don’t even know you’re doing it?
Great Storytelling Trumps Writing Rules
Somerset Maugham famously said, “There are three rules for writing. Unfortunately, nobody knows what they are.”
But pretty much everybody you meet in the publishing business will give you a list of them. (One is “never start a sentence with ‘there are’” — so watch yourself, Mr. Maugham.)
Some of the rules show up in any standard writing book or class, but others only seem to get circulated in critique groups, conference workshops, and forums.
And there are all the tricks for analyzing your work by beats and outlines and worksheets. You’re taught to make sure X happens on page 40 and Y happens on page 70.
I fear that if writers spend too much time with these, they’ll end up trying to shoehorn their story into a prescribed template that cripples their creativity.
Sometimes these worksheets and tips and tricks can work like magic to improve our writing. But sometimes they don’t.
Anything that organizes the passion out of your work is probably not going to catch the imagination of a huge number of readers.
Ruth told me recently that she fears new writers can be confused and overloaded by too many how-to-write books, webinars, podcasts, and blogs — even ours.
She’s right. We live in an era where writers have an amazing amount of information available to us at no cost. I think there may be a temptation to search for more and more of this “insider information” instead of learning to write the old-fashioned way: writing a whole heckuva lot of bad prose until we start producing good stuff.
There’s a time when you need to shut down the Internet and just write. And remember that most of the tips and “rules” we offer are most useful during the revision and editing process, not when you’re writing your first draft.
Critique Groups and Beta Readers Are Great, but….
This is true of critiques and beta readers too. Remember what they offer is personal opinions.
As I have written in earlier posts, critique groups are a wonderful way to learn to write well. But they can also give us tons of bad advice. See more in my post “Critique Groups: 6 Ways they Can Hurt Your Writing…and 6 Ways They Can Help.”
I also talk about Stupid Writing Rules, and how they can derail a WIP. Some writing rules work for some people and some work for others. And some are just plain dumb. When writers start following writing rules for their own sake instead of because they help you produce readable prose, it’s time to forget the rules for a while.
Remember that in the end, it’s your story, your vision, and your book. You don’t want a book written by committee. You want your own ideas there on the page. Follow the rules as long as they’re helping you produce a better story, but once they start to squelch your passion, it’s time to let them go.
Yes, even if you use a preposition to end a sentence with. 🙂
If you look at agents’ blogs and interviews, they often say something like “I can’t tell you exactly what I’m looking for, but I’ll know it when I see it.”
Yeah. They’re not looking for a manuscript that fits a mold. They’re looking for something passionate and exciting. So don’t let any of these “rules” rob you of that passion. Let your crawdads sing!
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by Anne R. Allen (@annerallen) December 19, 2021
What about you, scriveners? Do you feel that learning about writing rules has helped your prose? Do you ignore the rules most of the time? Has a critique group or beta reader ever derailed your book with bad or unkind advice? Do you ever feel overloaded with too much writing advice?
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Anne—Thanks you, gracias, merci & spasiba for bringing us all back down to earth! Yes, advice from experienced writers can be helpful. And, yes, guides, “rules,” and story templates and all the rest can help. BUT we are living in an age of “overwhelm” and risk drowning from the input.
As you say, the way to learn to write is to write. To write the unreadable, the embarrassing, the godawful. Until, over time, we finally “get it.” Whatever “getting it” means as we — finally! — create our own unique, inimitable style.
Ruth–Thank you! I’m glad you approve. Our talk about writer overload really got me thinking. And recently I saw another mention of Crawdads, and how many rules it breaks. But the book soared to the top of the NYT bestseller list and stayed there for months. I figured there had to be a reason. And it’s not one we can find in a writing course or webinar or blog. Some things can’t be taught or sold. We have to get there with hard work.
What a great Christmas gift of an article!
Among the takeaways:
Passion should drive our writing. Readers should feel the passion.
Treat writing rules as guidelines, not commandments.
Readers want what is familiar but new.
And of course, this priceless quote:
“Anything that organizes the passion out of your work is probably not going to catch the imagination of a huge number of readers.” –Anne R. Allen
Again, great article. You saved the best for last (or should I say, the end of the year).
I feel sorry for those aspiring authors out there who are not reading your blog.
Thanks.
Ingmar–Thank you! I’m glad you found it inspiring. Merry Christmas!
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Good Sunday morning, Anne & Ruth. When it comes to writing rules, I always think of the scene in Pirates of the Caribbean – Curse of the Black Pearl where Elizabeth Swan evokes the rules in the Pirate’s Code to which Captain Barbosa replies, “They’re not really rules. They’re more like a… guideline.”
Garry–It’s wise to listen to Pirate Lords. They know a thing or two about rules. 🙂
Absolutely
So fabulous, and written with the characteristic encouraging and optimistic tone. There probably are writers out there who need to be lobbed into the deep end of the pool because that’s the way they learn. But most of us, I would guess, benefit more from seeing the pitfalls ahead of time, PLUS the huge advantage just knowing there are folks out there like you two who offer such great support.
I will never stop looking for those three rules (so far I only have one). But everyone needs a hobby.
Will–I’m not telling beginners to jump into the deep end of the pool. I’m just saying that venturing into the deep end every so often may keep your passion fresh.
This whole emphasis on rules for beginning writers seems backwards to me. First, decide what experience you want your reader to have. Then look for writing techniques that will support that experience and anything that will undermine that experience.
Liz–You make a good point–it is backwards. Think of the reader first, not the rules. 🙂
Anne, this post is a perfect Christmas gift to writers, as Ingmar said. Thank you for this and for the many years of wisdom and wit you’ve shared.
Merry Christmas and a better New Year for all of us!
Debbie–Thanks! Merry Christmas and yes, a happier New Year! We should be in line for a streak of good luck!
This is the only blog I read and it’s because your advice is always done in a savvy, understanding, and knowledgeable way. I remember reading about what “not” to do and going through my ms and rewriting every sentence that had the “no-no’s” in them. I think about that now and geez, what a waste of time! But I didn’t know then what I know now. I feel confident breaking the rules now in order for my voice to flow through. Thank you so much for this post and I hope any new writers reading it will take it with them.
Patricia–I did that too! I rewrote my first book from scratch after my first Writers’ Conference–a week-long marathon with dozens of workshops–all of which told us everything we knew we was wrong. I eliminated “was” and all adjectives and adverbs. I made sure the climax took place on page X and that the book ended almost immediately, with no lose ends tied. Luckily I kept the first version. It was so much better!
What a timely post! Just last week had a potential author client proudly read off the page numbers where things began/ramped up/ended, each ‘act’ started and completed, plus an explanation of how such-and-so followed the such-and-so industry standard… I am ever-kind, so only mentioned that I wasn’t sure we would be a good match, as I was really bad at math and was a bit shaky on following rules.
I love the ‘teaching’ aspect of editing. I don’t love explaining why all the rules in the world won’t automatically produce a great novel. You’ve saved me from that with this great post! One link and I’m off the hook… (kidding)
With every book I edit, I learn more that I can apply to my own writing — and none of the things I learn have to do with writing rules. They all have to do with ways to handle communication, reader engagement and anticipation, and author voice.
Have a truly wonderful Holiday, Anne and Ruth! I’m sure you’re on Santa’s ‘nice’ list! :O))))
Maria–I’m not good at math either. That gives me a little “lightbulb” moment. I think those templates and rules that say X must happen on page Y, etc. are made up by people who are whizzes at math but not good enough at creative writing to have a natural feel for story flow. So they look for a mathematical solution.
That poor writer. I’m sure she was hoping for praise after all her hard work. But I couldn’t work with that mentality either.
You have a wonderful holiday, too!
“Anything that organizes the passion out of your work is probably not going to catch the imagination of a huge number of readers.”
Sounds like you just described an MFA inspired novel to a T. Whenever I pick of story written by someone with those magic letters following their name, I cringe in disappointment and gag on the dryness of the prose.
Rules aren’t necessarily meant to be broken, only bent just enough to make them an interesting stand-alone art piece. Love your blog and love what you do, as well as your humor.
GB–Oh, the MFA novel! I think they need their own section in the bookstore. They tend to be remarkably similar. This is “literary” fiction at its literary-est. It’s all written for the editors at the New Yorker, not for actual readers.
And yes, rules can be bent, not broken. We still want to follow rules of grammar and standard spelling and tell a story a reader can understand. But we don’t have to be obsessive about it.
Thank you for this empowering post, Anne.
If I’m hearing you correctly, I don’t think you’re advocating against learning the rules or abandoning but am encouraging us not to be afraid to break rules once we know.
I am wondering, however, if it’s possible to know all the rules. Personally I’ve been very choosey in the ones I learn.
Leanne–That’s wise. Don’t even learn the rules that make you tear out your heir. For me, it’s those “math” rules that tell you what page X can happen and how many pages you’re allowed after the gatekeeper sends the hero on his journey. If I don’t learn them, then I won’t have to tear out more hair when I break them, since I know I wont obey them. 🙂
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I’m with you Anne,
Let the crawdads sing, & the polar bears, & the armadillos, & the three-toed sloths. Let ’em all sing!
CS–Yup. We gotta let our inner animals out to play!
Wonderful advice to start the new year with. (Yeah, I did that on purpose.) I’ve read books lately that broke some of the “rules”, but I loved the stories, so it didn’t matter.
Thanks for reminding us what’s really important.
Kay–Haha! The preposition police will be after you. Yes. Story trumps rules every time.
I’ll bet the first version WAS better!!!
This is just what I needed. Let the creative juices flow!!!!
Beth–I’m glad it cheered you!
A wonderful post. Two of your comments reminded me of two books I read. One was given to me by my husband, just after I wrote my first novel. It’s called How Not to Write a Novel. An amusing book. The second, which seems to reflect what you say here, is called Story Trumps Structure. I can’t remember either author, I’m sorry to say.
I’m not saying that we should ignore the rules, just that, on the whole, readers aren’t as bothered as we are as long as it’s a good read.
I’ve recently read a couple of books that were not, in my opinion, well written, in fact, poorly written, but have many 5* reviews. Good story is why. Readers don’t know the ‘rules’, like inciting event, first plot point, climax, etc, so don’t care. Nor do they seem to worry about other things like adverbs, overuse of ‘just’ and other such words, repetition of words in close proximity etc.
Yes, break the rules if it’s what is needed by the story, but know you are breaking them!
Thank you for this reassuring post, Anne, and have a Merry Christmas.
Vivienne–I remember “How Not to Write a Novel”. It came out in England when I was living there, and I heard excerpts from it on Radio 4. Hilarious. I’ll have to check and see if it’s still in print. Yup. Story rules. And relatable characters.
Yes, well said, and a welcome breath of fresh air! (Wait, are we not supposed to use exclamation points?) I especially love your phrase: “organizes the passion out of your work”. There is a time to throw out the rules and write in a way that moves you and hopefully also moves readers. And sometimes you have to fight with your editor to keep HER from organizing the passion out of the work.
SM–Yes, you may run into editors who want to over organize your book. Sometimes a battle ensues. But usually an editor knows what will make a more readable story. The thing is–if you’ve written a good story, it often has excellent structure on its own. You don’t keep structure in mind when you write, but the story builds itself.
Excellent way to end the year, Anne! I do think it’s important to know what you’re doing before breaking the “rules,” but once you learn, story rhythm trumps grammar. Imagine a world without staccato sentences? Gasp! Story structure is different. Mess with it at your peril. My 2c. 🙂
Wishing you and Ruth the merriest of holidays! You’re both top-notch. <3
Sue–As I just said to SM, a good storyteller usually produces a solid structure alone with telling the tale. Structure is built organically, not by counting pages and doing a lot of math.
Merry Christmas to you too!
Hi Anne,
This was perfect to read at this time. In my many, many, many queries lately, I find so many more rejections now then when I started writing over ten years ago. I changed my first two novels SO MANY TIMES, I don’t even recognize them anymore. So many revisions definitely sucked the life out of them. I love to write with GUSTO and Passion. But, with all the rules I have learned over the years, I feel my writing is definitely not as passionate as it used to be. Funny. I wrote a little short story a while back, something I put together in less than a day, and it got picked up. I wrote it for fun. Well, it seemed to work because it will be published sometime next year. My first publication after a decade plus of writing. Now reading this, I definitely understand that it should be about the story and not about the rules. THANKS! Time to chuck the rules and have fun writing again! OOPS! I ended the last sentence in a preposition…LOL Such a rebel.
Michael–Congrats on getting your story accepted! I’m sure you’ve learned a whole lot about writing in that ten years, even though it doesn’t feel that way. Now you have to try to get in that zone where you created that story and write something new. I’ll bet a lot of what you’ve learned will seep through. Just don’t let it squelch that passion.
Thanks, Anne. I won’t. Yes, what we learn stays with us, but, as you say, we have to learn to bend or break the rules when necessary. All the best for the new year, Anne! Let’s hope and pray we will have a happier, healthier, and more prosperous year! Take care and stay safe!
Thank you! (It did take me quite a while to figure it out.)
Hi Anne,
It was a great article! I am so grateful that you share your insights with the community and help us with your experience. I really enjoyed reading this article. I have been struggling with this for quite some time. Wherever any author gives me advice I just take it too seriously, and I have kind of lost my creativity in the process. Thanks a lot for reminding me that these rules are just guidelines. I will keep this in mind when I write and I hope my creative juices start flowing back.
Ruth, that is at least the third English spelling I’ve seen for the Russian word for thank you. Mahalo!
But as I’ve mentioned to attendees at writer conferences, “Submission Guidelines” aren’t really guidelines–they’re carved-in-stone rules that must be followed..
Fred–You are absolutely right on that. The same is true for querying bloggers. Still 90% do not even visit the blog, much less follow the guidelines. I made the mistake yesterday of sending one of these morons a copy of the guidelines. She not only didn’t read or follow them, but she sent me a response saying “thank you for accepting my guest blogpost.”.I told her to find another profession. “If you can’t read, you can’t write.”
I will never, ever interact with one of these morons again. Don’t follow the guideline? You’re sent to spam. That means they’ll be marked as spammers in all Google programs. Where they belong. Good riddance!
Right on Anne or should i say Write on. Whatever, witch ever, i agree.
Lorie–Hi there! (waves) 🙂 I think a novel needs to touch the heart, and if you can do that, you can write your own rules. Ha!
Thank you so much for this insightful post! It is timely for me as I am in the process of sifting through comments from betas, some of which are hugely helpful and others that feel like ‘organizing the passion out of my work.” This post reminds us to stay true to our story, even if that means bending some rules.