rules of writing

[Hypoxia]

I make up lists of collected ideas. Do you? Here are some of mine.

MY (evolving) RULES OF WRITING

* Yes, the road to hell IS lined with adverbs. Yes, show don't tell.
* Start a piece with a grabber, a reason for the reader to continue.
- "First sentences are doors to worlds." But where are the windows?
* Be tight with orthography and loose with grammer, especially speech.

* It can be smart to outline a story, but that doesn't always happen.
* A plot bunny is not a plot. What happens after the bunny hops away?
* Maybe think about how a story is to end, before starting to write it.
- "If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up somewhere else."

* Characters insist on telling their own tales, but they need editing.
* "If you don't write it down, it never happened" applies to stories.
* Figure out what I want, and what it takes to get it. Be ruthless?
* Don't succumb to too many plot gerbils, no matter how tasty they are.

* Build a world (descriptive, plain language), don't just list actions.
* Put characters in danger. Don't be afraid to kill-off the buggers.
* For erotica readers, provide character, setting, plot, and hot sex.
* A story needs a theme; otherwise, why bother writing or reading it?

* At the heart of story is tension; at the heart of tension is unmet desire.
* The point of an erotic story is the transformation by erotic experience.
* Consider what you read & hear; how would you do them differently?
- "The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there."

* Most interesting characters are bad, sad, or mad. Just don't overdo it.
* Imagine a story's tone told in future tense plural omniscient 2nd-person.
* To learn is to stalk: follow, watch, observe, remember. Be persistent.

OTHER RULES:

* If you know you are right, shut up. No need to keep talking.
* Got a problem? Either do something to fix it, or shut up.
* Nobody wants to hear about your self-imposed misery.

* There is no destination. There is only the journey.
* Don't let the past haunt the present and the future.
* Humiliation is shame (self-devaluation) made public.

* A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. - Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)

* Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go much further than people with vastly superior talent. - Sophia Loren

 

[TxRad]

My first rule of writing is that there are no rules.

My second rule of writing is.... Uh... see rule one.

 

[lovecraft68]

First rule of writing is you don't talk about writing.

Second rule of writing is you don't talk about writing.

Third rule of writing. If its your first time in the AH, you have to write.

 

[AMoveableBeast]

To paraphrase Outback: no rules, just write.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Rulez! I don't need no stinking rulez!

 

[_Lynn_]

First rule of writing is you don't talk about writing.

Second rule of writing is you don't talk about writing.

Third rule of writing. If its your first time in the AH, you have to write.

Interesting rules you have there, LC.



I don't have a 'rules of writing' list.

I do follow basic rules of grammar, punctuation, etc., but I'll use something else if that makes the story flow better.

 

[sr71plt]

I'm sure I have a lot of "dos" and "don'ts" in my mind when I'm writing, but they aren't what I'm thinking about when I'm writing--much or usually. Or before or afterward. Or now.

 

[lovecraft68]

Interesting rules you have there, LC.



I don't have a 'rules of writing' list.

I do follow basic rules of grammar, punctuation, etc., but I'll use something else if that makes the story flow better.

Those are the rules for The David Fincher movie Fight Club

 

[_Lynn_]

Those are the rules for The David Fincher movie Fight Club

Not into movies, sorry.

 

[JKendallDane]

Just two for me:

Rules are made to be broken.

If you don't break them, one or more of your characters will break them for you.

 

[Handley_Page]

Just two for me:

Rules are made to be broken.

If you don't break them, one or more of your characters will break them for you.

Rules, as my old Flight Sergeant used to say,
are made for the guidance of wise men, and the strict adherence to of fools.

 

[RoyceConnors]

Rules are there to understand that there are limits set and your need to be creative in breaking them to blaze new trails and be unique.

 

[Athalia]

My two cardinal rules of writing:

1. Be interesting. Otherwise, both you and the reader are wasting their time.

2. Be clear -- so clear that it is not merely possible to be understood, but that it is impossible to be misunderstood.

I suppose James Joyce got away with breaking Rule 2, because he was so good at obeying Rule 1. But nobody gets away with breaking Rule 1.

 

[sr71plt]

I guess my main rule would have to be "gotta get this damn storyline outta my head before the next three drop."

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Rules:

1. Tell the story
2. See rule #1

 

[SamScribble]

'If a rule of writing has been constantly broken by good writers, it is no rule. In writing ... much harm is done by the assertion of certainties where none exist.' - John Whale, 1984

 

[HeyAll]

I've never understood that "Show don't tell" rule that people reference. I understand it was said by a famous author.

I don't see anything wrong with flat out saying what a character is thinking or feeling.

I don't really have any set of rules. I stick to the same basic formula though. Which is, I imagine a scene, then I write down what I'm visually. Simple as that. My goal is to write it so that someone reading the story at a casual pace can instantly visualize it.

 

[karaline]

Thanks Hypoxia, I found you're rules really interesting

 

[Hypoxia]

Thanks Hypoxia, I found you're rules really interesting

Thanks. In tabs in my editor, besides any story files I'm working on, I keep three TXT files open: _TALES, with titles and descriptions of what I've written, and propose to write; _LINES, with titles+first_lines exercises; and _RULES, with truisms and observations to contemplate and maybe ignore. (You can't ignore rules unless you know them.) _RULES contains more than what I posted above; many suggestions and trade secrets. No, I won't reveal it all...

I posted the 'rules' list in hopes that others might post their own guidelines. What I got was a lot of "Rules? What rules?" but I suspect many *do* keep certain principles in mind when composing stories. Some may keep lists of words to avoid, names to use, basic plotlines, themes to exploit, formulas to follow, that sort of stuff -- like a programmer's library of subroutines. Maybe shouldn't think of them as 'rules' so much as 'macros'.

 

[sr71plt]

I posted the 'rules' list in hopes that others might post their own guidelines. What I got was a lot of "Rules? What rules?" but I suspect many *do* keep certain principles in mind when composing stories. Some may keep lists of words to avoid, names to use, basic plotlines, themes to exploit, formulas to follow, that sort of stuff -- like a programmer's library of subroutines. Maybe shouldn't think of them as 'rules' so much as 'macros'.

What I think most are telling you is that once your writing style is set, the "rules" sink into the background. They are instinctively there for the writer, shaped by the writer's own style--and by what the writer absorbs from edits, but they aren't written down anywhere, let alone frequently consulted.

 

[humantouch]

Some of my my personal rules:

Anyone that is getting busy or in the vicinity of it is legal.

If what is written is only the sex, as in nothing building up to it or back story then it is not a story. It's just a Monday morning water cooler brag.

No cutting things off or maiming directly attached to a sexual feeling or event.

I only consider a sequel if the original story is too long. Or if a major change of event, perspective, or turnaround will greatly enhance or is necessary to finish the story. (yes I have a 2 part rough draft written years ago involving revenge).

Be consistent. If it is period or niche genre specific, it is best to research it a little. My period specific story (Coming clean) needed personality and setting research, and more than just watching I Love Lucy reruns.

Be believable. Even when it is sometimes intensely to the point of wondering how something like this could happen, it still has to be grounded in reality. This is true even with Fantasy, etc stories. You create a condition among people and/or being that is a set of believable emotions.

If writing a story where someone is way out of their element, as in a fan getting nailed by a movie star, there has to be reasoning behind it. The story needs to tell how and why this person was able to achieve this with thoughtful meaning. Otherwise it is again, just a water cooler brag.

If I write a 'celebrity' story, it will be a fantasy about an on screen character persona (like the one I just published), not the actor themselves. So is it a celebrity story then? I dunno, but it's as far as I am willing to go. If we like the show or movie, we know more about the character personality than the actor anyway right?

I also never write about big breasted females. If they are included, they are not a main character or integral part. Why? Because I am not attracted to a big bust. More than a handful is a waste.

 

[sr71plt]

One of my main rules is not to write sex stories about real celebrities at all.

 

[Hypoxia]

One of my main rules is not to write sex stories about real celebrities at all.

For me, celeb fiction is a turnoff, both to read and write. (It's like an extended round of crass name-dropping.) I have indeed included prominent people in some of my pieces. I do NOT name them; I'll let curious readers consider the context and figure out who's there. If I *do* write a celeb piece, it'll be vicious satire, not sexual fantasy.

EDIT: Oh yeah, that list of rules? It's not like I have them pasted-up next to my computer screen. I glance at the list every few weeks, and add items that strike my interest.

It's like: The Book, which is what computer programmers would call an object.. which is defined as a set of data, combined with the rules of how to handle that data. Now, science is an object. In science, the data is the overall accumulation of observations and explanations (theories, hypotheses, etc); its rule set is the scientific method, which tells us how to update the dataset.

The military has an object called The Book containing zillions of regulations and procedures. If you want to have a nice safe career, you do everything By The Book. If you want fast advancement, you try wild-ass stunts. If a stunt fails, you die; or, even worse, you're passed over for promotion. But if the stunt succeeds, it goes into The Book, and you gain a killer rep, and future pukes have to try to match YOUR wild-ass stunt -- which is now established doctrine.

(The fictional career of James Tiberius Kirk exemplifies this.)

So, my set of rules is, for me, The Book. If I want to write certain types of tales, I follow my rules. Otherwise, I try wild-ass stunts, like BIG BANANA and UNDER HIS EYES and XYZ-BOMBER. Oops, those all have vote scores in the 2's. I try other wild-ass stunts like THAT'S MY GIRL and PRICKLY PAIRS, and they get VERY good votes. So those stunts go into my rules, my version of The Book.

My rules are guidelines I may follow until I wish to break them. But it's still good to keep a list. I also have secret rules. Too bad, suckers.

 

[PervOtaku]

I tend to just write a story that I would want to read, and trust my instincts. Hopefully they are good instincts.

Lists like this are nice and usually full of true things, but overthinking things while writing might be problematic too.

 

[sr71plt]

(The fictional career of James Tiberius Kirk exemplifies this.)

I think Captain Kirk's career and life would have gone a whole lot smoother if he'd remembered just the one rule: "Wear your seatbelt."