Are There Really Writing Rules and Should I Break Them?
It came up in a discussion recently that there aren’t any formulas or rules to writing or else robots could just write best sellers and people could have computers do it for them.
In my opinion, this just isn’t true. There are certain rules and formulas to writing and following them is helpful for starting out.
The real question here is should they be broken and when?
Our answer is: it depends. Let’s get into it.
Destroy all adverbs.
Have you heard this rule before? I know I have, plenty of times. Never write, “I wrote down my idea excitedly!”
Instead Write, “the author got excited about his idea so he wrote it down.”
What rule is this? “Never use adverbs!”
Is this a rule to follow or break?
I think this rule should be considered but can definitely be broken.
We don’t have to NEVER write adverbs in our stories. In fact, I would say they are helpful and not distracting at times. But the rule here should be considered.
If our writing becomes loaded down with adverbs that’s probably too much and it’s going to get distracting for some readers.
Instead, maybe sprinkle in an adverb or two where you really add to the moment and it didn’t overdo it.
Any writer that says, “you can never write adverbs or you will fail as a writer!” never read Harry Potter.
Know the formulas.
This step is pretty important. If you don’t know the rules or the formulas you can’t break them.
It’s important to do research and to learn what makes a great story and what makes great writing.
Then when the time comes you will see a writing formula and know that the story needs to follow it or needs to break it.
If we don’t educate ourselves then we won’t know whether we are just using sloppy writing and trying to push work that is more distracting to our audience than enjoyable.
We want our writing to be enjoyable and for that, we need to know what formulas in the story give what reactions.
For example, if you want to give people a feeling of satisfaction then your story will have a resolution at the end.
If you want them to feel unfulfilled you leave a cliffhanger.
If you want them to feel turmoil or sadness it might end in tragedy.
If you want them to feel horror or uneasy, it will end with no resolution and maybe still a foreboding problem.
These are simple but effective tools for creating stories and plots with the idea in mind of how you want your audience to feel at the end of your story.
Formulas are important for how you want readers to feel, not because they are formulas but because how they help you understand how your overall story will be received and looked for.
When someone is looking at your stories, what feeling do you want them to be chasing after? Horror? Satisfaction? Happy ending? Curiosity? Sadness? Etc.
You can break these formulas, but by doing so you should know at the end WHY you broke the writing rule and how that contributes to your reader ultimately enjoying your story more because you broke it.
You don’t have to know every rule to start writing.
This is important because you might think, “I don’t know what rules I’m breaking so I better not start till I do! Ahhhh!”
This is an unnecessary thought and task.
It would be better to start writing and learn the rules as you go. This way you are increasing your knowledge and practical skill at the same time, thus increasing your wisdom in writing rather than just having the head knowledge and doing nothing with it.
It’s better, in our opinion, to write something bad and fix it later rather than write nothing at all.
It’s kind of fun to be able to look back over years of writing and see how one has grown and changed as a writer. Your writing voice will change and mature over time. If you start writing right away you will be able to see that change first hand.
Waiting to write just doesn’t make sense in the long run.
There are differing opinions about rules and formulas.
Some people don’t believe in certain “formulas” for writing, whereas they do believe in good writing rules.
For me personally, I can definitely see certain “skeletons” or foundations for stories.
In most good stories there’s a beginning, middle, and end. There’s usually an introduction of characters and a major conflict. There’s usually a good climax before the end.
Most good stories have these “formulas,” if you will. And sometimes ignoring these facts leads to stories or plots that fall flat in the majority of the audiences’ eyes.
I’m not saying you MUST follow them, but if you don’t you are heading into territory that is harder to achieve a successful story compared to writers that don’t try to “reinvent the wheel.”
Break them cleverly.
Don’t break the rules just because you don’t like them. This would be silly.
Instead of you are going to break them at all, break them in a clever way that leads to more enjoyment for your readers.
Maybe you write to an audience of writers? In that case, you can break the rules in meta and your audience will get why you broke it and they will see what non-writers can’t see.
Breaking the rules should have a level of intelligence to it, not just rebellion. Rebellion for rebellion’s sake is popular with no one. But well thought out, clever rebellion is appealing to many.
I’m personally not clever enough to break the rules cleverly, but you can bet if I was, I would. 😏
“Good writing can’t be taught”
We definitely disagree with this sentiment. It’s almost like saying “good writing can’t be studied.”
As someone that loves the art of storytelling and thoroughly enjoys studying it, I have to particularly and harshly disagree with EVERYONE that tries to tell you that good writing can’t be taught.
It most certainly can, you just have to find good teachers and dodge the bad ones.
BE AWARE there is bad advice out there. Don’t just take what anyone says to heart without researching it and studying it for yourself (even what I say here. If I say something you don’t agree with, that’s fine. You don’t have to agree with me. I encourage you to study things for yourself! Because in the end, the real truth wins out; not people’s opinions.)
What works out for you, doesn’t always work for others.
What works for me and my style of writing, might not work for you.
You have to figure out your own journey with writing and how it does or it doesn’t work out for you.
So as you study writing and write yourself, you get to choose what formulas to follow or not follow.
And you get to choose what writing rules to break or not break.
This ultimately leads to your own unique style and writing voice compared to other writers.
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Are There Really Writing Rules and Should I Break Them?
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Are There Really Writing Rules and Should I Break Them?
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That’s all for now.
Hope this helps!
Happy writing!
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