The Rules For Writing A Novel

 THE RULES FOR WRITING A NOVEL

“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”― W. Somerset Maugham

It’s funny and it’s true. Of course I could get nit-picky and start talking about language and all the rules needed to write properly. I could go on about the mythology behind stories, story arcs, beats and how to construct one the ‘right way.”

But I won’t.

There must be some rules somewhere, but where? And you know what, why should we care?

After all, storytelling is as old as the human race. Look, of course we need some language rules in order to put our stories down on paper – or on the computer – and be understood. No argument, but really, the other rules are just what some people came up with to try to outline what it takes to write a story.

I’ve been asked many times for help by newer writers. How do you write your books? Where do you get your ideas? How do you write all those words? How do you cut what you’ve written when it’s so dear to you? What’s the structure of the novel as you understand it? 

Wellllll, I’m pretty much a set-of-the-pants writer though I admit to having  done some teaching. In person and online. In fact I have a romance writing course at UDEMY right now called Romancing Your Novel and in that class I provide hints and tips and direction along with encouragement, but no rules. Same for when I teach in person.

The truth of the matter is, there may be rules, but Somerset Maugham got it right, nobody knows what they are. Not really. Some act as great experts, but believe me, whatever rules there are are regularly broken as a new style, a new voice is heard from.

If you’re a reader you know it well. You try a new writer, find a new voice and you’re in love all over again.

If you’re a writer you know it just as well – and for the same reasons – in addition to many more. A new style emerges. A new crossing of genres appears. You like reading it. You love writing it. Your writing evolves as time passes and times change. Life is change. That’s what it’s all about.

So, those rules, wherever they are, can stay there. My reading and writing tastes will change. That’s okay. And I’ll come across some of those rules along the way, probably take a bit of time to understand them, then promptly break them.

That’s just the way it is.

Writers And Readers Websites Wednesday - Elements of Style

Here it is, an online, free Elements of Style by William Strunk from Bartleby.com

For anyone who writes anything the Elements is a great guide to have at your fingertips. Visit and save the link!

From the site:

Asserting that one must first know the rules to break them, this classic reference book is a must-have for any student and conscientious writer.  Intended for use in which the practice of compositions combined with the study of literature, it gives in brief space the principal requirements of plain English style and concentrates attention on the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated.

That about covers it.

Forget The Rules Already - Newest Writing Advice

Today I’m going to give some advice that’ll make some people sit up and spit.

It’s this – Forget the Rules Already and Write.

Yep, that simple.

I could stop writing right now and leave it at that, but of course I won’t.

We humans seem to be constantly in search of advice, guess that’s why “self-help” books sell so well. But really, do we NEED all that advice? Can’t we rely on our own abilities and instincts once in a while – or most of the time? And don’t many of those ‘rules’ just tie writers up in knots  trying to ‘do it right’?

Now, I’m not saying we don’t need to know things in order to write well, such as grammar and some decent spelling (though we do have spell checks and grammar checks these days). We do need to know how to format the manuscript or screen script for submission so it doesn’t get trashed upon receipt. The once-upon-a-time of an editor at a publishing house doing all the grunt work of cleaning up a manuscript are long gone. You absolutely must present a clean, readable manuscript or screen script in the currently accepted format.

But those aren’t the kinds of rules I’m talking about. There are lots and lots….and lots of places on the web, in person, at writer’s groups, where you can hear ‘rules’ recited. Don’t to this. Do that. Nobody’s doing it that way!

What?

Hmmm. Here’s the way I see it. Writing is an evolving craft, always has been. If you look back at what others have written, the classics and the ‘penny-dreadfuls’ and compare it to novels, literature and pulp books along the way up to now you’ll see just how writing has changed. Not really because of ‘rules’ but more because of the way society is changing and readability. Some of the old ways of writing a novel could now be called ‘stilted’, but it was perfectly accepted and great reading when published. Things change. Styles change. Subject matter changes.  And yet what was old is new again (take for example the fixation with vampires – we’ve seen vampire books before Anne Rice and the vampire romances). So ‘story’ keeps coming around, but ‘delivery’ and ‘style’ changes.

So, what am I saying? Quite simply, forget the rules and write already. Get your story out. Break a few rules and by doing so you may well be creating new ones; someone before you did. You may have to change it, rearrange it, but if you don’t stop worrying about all the rules that are getting crammed into your head about how a story is to be presented, then you’re never going to do it at all. You’ll just keep spinning your wheels.

Really, learn how to handle language, present in an acceptable format and give yourself free rein to cause a few new rules to be created that someone else will worry about down the road.

So write already.

3 Writing Rules to Fracture Considerably

For writers these days there are so many rules and ideas, how-tos and do-nots coming at them that they forget they're there to just write.

So I think it's time to ponder a couple of the biggies. 

The first is "Show, don't tell".  Really?  Do you always 'show' everyone everything or do you tell as well? I mean in the real world, who gets up from a grog-inducing night's sleep, looks at him or herself in the mirror and does a critique of him or herself noting scars and other physical traits in the mirror? Okay, maybe, sometimes, something could catch your attention when gazing in the mirror other than the toothbrush in your hand, the fact that you got your mascara on a bit thick, or that cold sore coming up on your lip.

But SHOW, always, simply isn't real. And, because it isn't really real the writer ends up manufacturing an entirely artificial series of 'facts', 'woven' into the story. There's nothing wrong with ignoring the 'rule' of "Show, Don't Tell," and simply stating your character is five and a half feet tall with a killer scar over his right eyebrow. Really, it’s okay.

I mean, come on, have you been asked to show someone a story or is it that we, as writers, are asked to tell our readers a story? If you read too many rules and attempt to follow them all you can lose your readers not to mention making yourself a little nuts, tying yourself in knots, trying to figure out how to follow all those rules.

Those folks out there thirsting for a great story don't care about show or tell.  They just want a great read from an excellent writer and that means they need something that catches them by the eyeballs and won't let go. That means you need to combine showing and telling, hone your writing until it's crisp and engaging.

Yes, you must produce good writing despite all the rules.

Yes, there are many times when you, the writer, 'show' the action or exchange between characters. And yes, you want to avoid long explanatory narratives. That's where crisp and engaging comes in. It's your responsibility as writer to know when to use which and to do it with clarity and in such a way that it draws the reader into the story.

There’s another favorite no-no that many writers have thrown at them from a variety of sources and that is “don’t start your story with the weather”.  Really?  I mean never? What if it’s central to the story? What if it sets the mood you’re looking for?

If the weather is what your book needs to begin with, then begin writing with the weather. Geez. I mean author Alistair MacLean did it all the time. Just because Snoopy, the star of Peanuts, began all his novels with “it was a dark and stormy night” doesn’t mean it’s always a joke. In fact it doesn’t mean anything at all. Be a good writer. Do what’s good for your story and don’t be afraid of it.

All right here’s another. How about Suspense is always created by this, that, or another, in a story. Meaning you can pinpoint exactly what will cause suspense and one rule is that you can’t have suspense without creating sympathetic characters. More and more writers are taking chances and breaking this rule. Think about it. You’ve probably read something recently in which there is no sympathetic character to be found in the entire book. You can pinpoint bad guys, and worse guys. Which one of those to you want to sympathize with? What can create suspense is the asking of a question and the artful way the writer makes people wait for the answer. We humans want answers. We always want answers. So, you better have that answer, but meanwhile your reader sticks around, reading, because he or she is fascinated, digging for that answer. It seems like we’re all hard-wired for that answer seeking.

These are just a few of the rules that need to be brought into question. Basically I write with a general idea of where I’m going and a lot of ongoing notes as I progress, but I pretty much don’t know the answer to my question at the beginning and go forward scene by scene throwing in complications as I go. 

I can’t help it. I like to be surprised by the ending too.

So, in conclusion? Read about the ‘rules’, know about the ‘rules’, but don’t let them corner your writing. Take chances and explore.