5 Writing Rules You Should Totally Break

if you've taken any type of creative writing class or course you've likely compiled a long list of writing rules that are endlessly discussed certain ways you should approach your writing and certain rules that you should make sure any piece of writing you compose always follows but all rules are meant to be broken and that goes especially for something that is creative expression which writing truly is so today I want to talk about five of the most common pieces of writing advice that you have likely come across and discuss why you should consider breaking them that's not to say that these 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 the rules right if you are a writer or an aspiring author I recommend subscribing to my channel if you haven't already every week I either give writing advice or or talk about how to strengthen your specific work in progress or I give insights from the book publishing industry which is my professional background if you do currently have a work in progress go ahead into the description and grab my free resource it is called my story self assessment worksheet and it's a fun easy simple way to look at your current draft and see what could be strengthened and improved in it downloading that is also going to opt you into my newsletter where I publish exclusive interviews with published authors and Publishing industry professionals so you don't want to miss out on all of the amazing tips they are sharing the link to go straight to the newsletter is also in the description let's talk about the first piece of writing advice that I think you should break it's one you've likely heard time and time again show don't tell now this piece of advice comes from a place of encouraging 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 a lot of cases for example 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 teared up her beloved Nikes the second example is where you are showing us an instance of the Pitbull 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 Anne frankly is more interesting than just being told how they are that being said some amount of quote-unquote telling is necessary for effect storytelling because it helps ground the reader in your novel circumstances for example going with the Pitbull example it would be helpful to simply be told that Margaret adopted Pluto the Pitbull 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 but if it's not and 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 hot up to speed on their circumstances remember that you don't have to show us everything in some amount of telling will be effective here if you are looking for some more tips on how to incorporate Exposition in your story I have a whole other video that goes into that so check it out the next writing rule that I think you should 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 to take care of most authors are in the position of having competing priorities throughout their day and not necessarily being able to prioritize writing all the time so forcing yourself to stick to an unrealistic goal if 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 of a relief to you writing hopefully is an important part of your life but it is not your entire life and you shouldn't feel like it has to be and 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 even watching YouTube videos like this can all help you turn back to your own manuscript with Newfound energy and creativity it all 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 the next writing rule that I want you to break is to focus on improving your Pros on a sentence level now we all admire gorgeous Pros with amazing imagery and unexpected turns of phrase that sounds 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 success useful with your readers many authors come to me and ask if their rating is good or bad they're concerned they might use too many adverbs they might be concerned their sentence structure is choppy or they worry 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 structure and point of view the most effective for this particular story so 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 going to be how you ensure that your story ultimately resonates and you don't just have a string of pretty sentences the next writing rule that you can absolutely break is stick to one genre while you'll find that many authors write successfully and if 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 and just getting your footing potentially trying to publish your first book for instance 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 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 or literary 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 and I believe that if you find the right Partners they will absolutely support you in branching out into different genres the final writing rule I want you 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 be absolutely helpful and help you stay on track and organize your draft as you are composing it it can also ultimately be limiting so as you draft I want you to feel empowered to allow the story the characters to take the turns that they feel the 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 and it can help you avoid writer's block for instance if you have this 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 instead of doing this have them do that and see how that regenerates your Creative Energy if you allow your plotting to take a life of its own in some ways or to some degree you might find that you are creating a much richer and more nuanced and exciting story give your characters and your story the space to grow and evolve and change also remember that if you are in the initial phases of drafting your book or 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 the structure Etc so that's why it isn't always super productive to be very married to your outline if it helps you draft absolutely use it as a tool but do not feel totally confined to it I truly 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 for instance have your story change into something new entirely if it feels like that's where it needs to go if you are struggling with your plotting check out my video on the only way to Plot a novel I promise it'll help you get unstuck and it will not limit you to just one specific outline I hope this video 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 let me know in the comments which of these writing rules you personally break or if you feel strongly that these shouldn't be broken also let me know if you're looking for some more tips I have another video that goes into writing advice that you should ignore so definitely check that one out before you head out it would mean a lot to me if you hit that Thumbs Up Button if you enjoyed this video and go ahead and hit that subscribe button if you haven't already don't forget your free story self assessment worksheet and my newsletter Link in the description below thanks so much for watching and happy writing foreign [Music]

Channel: Alyssa Matesic

Views: 7,721

Keywords: authortube, writer, writing, author, novelist, creative writing, writetube, writetuber, writing advice, how to write a book, how to write a novel, creative writing degree, books, nanowrimo, writing tip, why writing rules don't matter, writing rules, writing craft, booktube, publishing advice, harsh writing advice, honest writing advice, tough love for writers, writing tips, novel writing tips, novel writing advice, fiction, become a writer, improve your writing, how to write better

Id: t7CVLIELrug

Length: 12min 37sec (757 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 23 2023