5 Writing Rules to Break to Unlock Your Creativity
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If you've taken any creative writing class or course, you've likely compiled a long list of writing rules. But all rules are meant to be broken, especially when they apply to creative expression — which writing definitely is.
That's not to say that some writing rules aren't useful for some people or even for you, but I don't want you to feel your craft as an author is limited by them. In fact, some of the most exciting things come from breaking rules in writing!
Here are five writing rules to break from time to time:
1. Show, Don’t Tell
This writing “rule” is meant to encourage writers to immerse the reader in the specificity of their particular story rather than providing a general summary or a description of what occurred, which is typically what we're talking about when an author is telling us something versus showing it to us.
Showing rather than telling makes sense in many cases. For instance, when you are trying to describe a character's personality, showing often works much better than telling. For example, telling the reader that Pluto the pit bull was rambunctious isn't quite as effective as saying something like, “When Margaret came home, she found that Pluto the pit bull had torn up her beloved Nikes.”
The second example is where you are showing us an instance of the pit bull being rambunctious, and because of that specific incident, we can now glean that the dog is rambunctious rather than you just telling us the dog is rambunctious. It gives us a much more robust understanding of this character, and frankly is more interesting than just being told how they are.
That being said, some amount of “telling” is necessary for effective storytelling because it helps ground the reader in your novel’s circumstances. For example, going with the pit bull example, it would be helpful to simply be told that Margaret adopted Pluto the pit bull from a shelter where he had been left as a puppy. We don't necessarily need to be shown that entire scene unless it is particularly pertinent to the plot. If it's just a detail that the reader needs to know, go ahead and tell it to us — no harm, no foul.
The key with showing and telling is to balance these two narrative elements so that the story feels immersive but never bogged down by unnecessary details or content that we don't actually need to see in a scene. You want to be especially cognizant of balancing showing and telling in the first pages of your story because this is where you are trying to give the reader information about the novel's world so they can make sense of what the characters are experiencing and get caught up to speed on their circumstances. Remember that you don't have to show us everything. Some amount of telling will be effective.
2. Write Every Day
The next writing rule to break is to write every day. Many authors swear by the mantra and the routine of writing every single day, even if you just get one sentence or one paragraph down. But the truth is that this practice just doesn't work for every writer.
Ultimately, feeling forced to have to write every day to propel your craft forward can lead to burnout, especially if you aren't in a position to make writing your full-time job and you have other professional or personal responsibilities. Most authors are in the position of having competing priorities throughout their day and are not necessarily able to prioritize writing all the time. Forcing yourself to stick to an unrealistic goal if you are in that situation can be disheartening and frustrating, which is not what you want your writing to feel like. It should feel like a creative outlet and something you enjoy doing.
Writing is hopefully an important part of your life, but it is not your entire life, and you shouldn't feel like it has to be. Forcing yourself to write when you really need to be or want to be doing other things can ultimately be counterproductive.
And remember that even if you don't get a chance to sit down and write on a given day, that doesn't mean that you're not working on how to be a better storyteller. For example, reading a book, listening to an audiobook, watching a show as you cook dinner, or even watching YouTube videos about writing and publishing can all help you turn back to your own manuscript with newfound energy and creativity. Each of these helps develop your skills as a storyteller.
Also, simply taking breaks from writing if it is going to improve your mental health is absolutely worth doing because that's going to be what allows you to maintain a practice of writing for the long haul. Remember that writing — especially if you are working on a book — is a marathon and not a sprint, so you want to be able to sustain the practice.
3. Focus on Improving Your Prose
We all admire gorgeous prose with amazing imagery and unexpected turns of phrase that sound poetic. But remember that the writing itself — the sentences that you put together — is only one component of your overall storytelling. The other huge part is the actual story you are telling, which is just as important as the quality of your sentences.
I want you to think about if you are a good storyteller or if you're just a good writer. You could have the most gorgeous, beautiful, poetic sentences, but if they don't actually add up to something and tell an emotionally moving and compelling story, then you're not actually going to be as successful with your readers.
Many authors come to me and ask if their writing is good or bad. They're concerned they might use too many adverbs, their sentence structure is choppy, or their descriptions are overly long or verbose. While these sentence-level issues are important to your craft as you develop as an author, they neglect the bigger picture, which is if the story itself is holding up. Do you have effective characters? Does the plot make sense? How is the pacing? Are the novel structure and point of view the most effective for this particular story?
As you turn back to your draft, make sure you are continually finding ways to make your story as strong as it can be — not just improving your writing on a sentence level. That is how you ensure that your story ultimately resonates and you don't just have a string of pretty sentences.
4. Stick to One Genre
The next writing rule to break is sticking to one genre. While you'll find that many authors write successfully in a particular genre and then continue to put similar books out that do very well, don't feel the need to pigeonhole yourself, especially when you are early in your career or publishing your first book. This is not a time where I want you to restrict yourself creatively because that can ultimately limit how you develop as a writer.
Writing in different genres can ultimately help you grow and evolve as your craft gets better and better because you'll be navigating different styles, different structures, different reader expectations, and different tropes and conventions.
And if you're already a published author, experimenting with new genres can help you break into a totally different audience. In fact, these days, if you go to a bookstore and look at books that are currently being published, there are many that are actually hybrid genres, which means they blend elements of different genres like historical, mystery, literary or thriller. Literary agents these days tend to be pretty open to these types of genre-bending works because they're taking elements of established genres but creating something fresh and exciting, which the publishing industry is always looking for.
Writers are often very anxious that they will not be able to find an agent or a publisher if they write in different genres, but remember that the ideal agent and publisher signed with you because they love your writing and your stories that you want to tell. The right partners should support you in branching out into different genres.
5. Map Out Your Plot
The final writing rule to break is to map out your plot. While having a very detailed plot outline — potentially you write out every single plot beat and when it is going to happen in the story — can absolutely help you stay on track and organize your draft as you are composing it, it can also ultimately be limiting.
As you draft, I want you to feel empowered to allow the story and the characters to take the turns that they need to. Follow your instincts and allow the story to go in unexpected directions, even if it's not what you mapped out all those days or weeks or months ago. Allow yourself to deviate from the outline, if you have created one, because allowing spontaneity in your plotting can lead to really exciting and unexpected twists. It can also help you avoid writer's block.
For instance, if you have a specific scene you've mapped out in your outline, and when you turn to the page it just won't come out, how about you take that opportunity to have the characters go in a different direction? See how that change regenerates your creative energy. If you allow your plotting to take on a life of its own to some degree, you might find that you are creating a much richer, more nuanced and exciting story. Give your characters and your story the space to grow, evolve and change.
Also remember that if you are in the initial phases of drafting your story, it is still very likely that you are going to make major revisions down the line, such as changing a plotline, changing a character's backstory, changing the point of view or the structure, etc. That's why it isn't always super productive to be married to your outline. If it helps you draft, absolutely use it as a tool, but do not feel totally confined to it.
I like to think of manuscripts as wet clay; they are still able to be molded and shaped, and they can change form entirely. Perhaps when you started, you thought you were making a vase, but now you're actually making a beautiful teapot. Have your story change into something new if it feels like that's where it needs to go.
I hope this helped reassure you that writing rules, like all rules, are ultimately meant to be broken, and if they're not serving you, throw them out the window!
Thanks so much for reading and happy writing!