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“Would I have carried myself with the same swagger, or faced adversity with such feminine resolve, without Albertine as my...
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Wise words from Dolly Parton
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“Knowing how to be solitary is central to the art of loving. When we can be alone, we can be with others without using them as an escape.”
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3 posts tagged Rules for Writers
10 (Good) Rules for Writers from Elmore Leonard
Elmore Leonard describes these rules as those he’s “picked up along the way to help me remain invisible when I’m writing a book, to help me show rather than tell what’s taking place in the story.” I’m a firm believer that some stories simply need the writer to get out of the way, so I’m a big fan of Elmore’s rules. They have helped me a great deal in my most recent manuscript revisions.
- Never open a book with weather.
- Avoid prologues.*
- Never use a verb other than “said” to carry dialogue.
- Never use an adverb to modify the verb “said.”
- Keep your exclamation points under control.
- Never use the words “suddenly” or “all hell broke loose.”
- Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly. (Elmore cites Annie Proulx’s book of short stories “Close Range” as a good reference; see how she captures the flavor of Wyoming voices.)
- Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.
- Don’t go into great detail describing places and things. (“… you don’t want descriptions that bring the action, the flow of the story, to a standstill.”)
- Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.
Elmore says his most important rules is one that sums up the 10: If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.
*For my fellow non-fiction and memoir writers, Elmore is targeting novels: “A prologue in a novel is backstory, and you can drop it in anywhere you want.”
For more detail and the “why” behind these rules, read his New York Times article “Easy on the Adverbs, Exclamation Points and Especially Hooptedoodle.”
On the contrary: your darlings don’t have to die
One of the most popular writing rules I’ve heard (and practiced) is “kill your darlings.” When a very trusted editor commented that a favorite line of mine had pulled him out of the story, I first started to justify how it fit in the book. Then I realized that I was trying to save the line because I loved it. It was pretty, but it didn’t work.
But here’s perspective from author N.M. Kelby on breaking this rule:
First of all, who came up with the idea of killing your “darlings”? It appears to have been William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald or Mark Twain. No one seems to know for sure, but I say, Who cares? They’re all dead. The pressure probably killed them.
This approach to editing is the most dangerous tool in your repertoire. We write for the beauty of the well-turned phrase and the surprise of unexpected wisdom. So why “kill” these darlings? True, every word counts, but fiction is a journey. Your reader has her bags packed and is ready to go. Give her an adventure.
How do you strike a balance between economy and beauty? Practice. Read your manuscript aloud and imagine being at a cocktail party. You’re telling a story to someone you’ve just met. Think about what would interest or delight her—not you.
Rather than killing your darlings, hide them in well-marked files. You may use them later. And don’t let the pressure get to you. We should approach the page as a dog approaches an open car window. We have to stick our heads out, let our ears flap and watch for bugs in our eyes. We have to be in and of the moment. We have to let our hearts fly.
—N.M. Kelby
From Writing Rules: 10 Experts Take on the Writer’s Rulebook
Jeanette Winterson’s 10 rules for writing
I pulled this list from The Guardian’s “Ten rules for writing fiction,” described as “Inspired by Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing” Because I’m deep in editing a memoir draft, I dropped the fiction reference. Winterson’s rules fit any type of writing, which is appropriate given her just-published memoir Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?
- Turn up for work. Discipline allows creative freedom. No discipline equals no freedom.
- Never stop when you are stuck. You may not be able to solve the problem, but turn aside and write something else. Do not stop altogether.
- Love what you do.
- Be honest with yourself. If you are no good, accept it. If the work you are doing is no good, accept it.
- Don’t hold on to poor work. If it was bad when it went in the drawer it will be just as bad when it comes out.
- Take no notice of anyone you don’t respect.
- Take no notice of anyone with a gender agenda. A lot of men still think that women lack imagination of the fiery kind.
- Be ambitious for the work and not for the reward.
- Trust your creativity.
- Enjoy this work!
