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Writing Rules

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Photo by Crystal
Photo by Crystal

Ever since I read W. Somerset Maugham’s quote about his three rules for writing a novel, I’ve been thinking about it. Here’s what Maugham said:

There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”

It’s kind of joke, I know. But it’s also serious. Maugham wrote twenty novels and a lot of other stuff, too, and he knew what he was doing. I can’t be sure, but I think he was saying that the art or craft of writing is a mystery to even those who are successful—the rules are hard (if not impossible) to articulate. And yet, there are books written, there are rules and there are guidelines. Individually we can each have certain truths we write by (or don’t).

It made me wonder if I have any rules for writing—or truths I write by—and if I do, are they worthy of sharing?

After I thought about it for a few days (and about writing a post about it), I wondered if other writers could or would synthesize their writing process into just three rules. So I did what any modern (and uncertain) writer would do, I asked on Facebook. Specifically the Writer Unboxed Facebook group.

I posted the Maugham quote and asked if anyone had rules for writing fiction.

Here’s what I got. Claire Greer commented with Diana Gabaldon’s three rules: Read, Write. Don’t stop. Lorin Oberweger offered four “extremely valuable guidelines,” including #1, “Really learn and understand scene structure. As an early riser, I really liked what Becky Brandon said she’d learned from her dad: “Write first thing in the morning so that all the characters could be clearly heard.” Steve Harrison said there are no rules or advice, only guidelines and opinions. (Thank you to all who left comments; I really appreciated your thoughts.)

If Three is Good, Is More Better?

But I still hadn’t come up with my own three rules, so of course I branched out to Google, where I found lots of writers (like me) who had taken a crack at their own version of three rules.

But I found more.

Specifically, an article in The New Yorker by Teddy Wayne, who said there are not three but eight rules to writing fiction (number 1 on his list is show don’t tell). Kurt Vonnegut also had eight rules, his first: “Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.” Elmore Leonard said there are ten rules (his first: never open with the weather). Open Culture presented twenty rules of writing according to Stephen King (King’s first rule is to write for yourself, and then worry about audience). Matt Haig at booktrust.org has twenty-five rules (his #1 is never be in awe of your own style).[pullquote]The truth is that writing doesn’t fit neatly into rules or into business syndromes or principles or effects. Not everyone thinks or creates alike, so there is no one-size fits all. [/pullquote]

Down the Rabbit Hole

Reading the advice and rules of these big time authors, raised yet another problem. (Stephen King, after all, is the best known writer from my very own state.) As a pre-published and self published writer…suddenly the problem isn’t only about coming up with my own three writing rules, it’s also about my feelings of latent inadequacy…am I even good enough to offer rules about how fiction should be written? Self-doubt aggravated by the impostor syndrome rears its ugly head (The impostor syndrome is a psychological phenomenon in which people are unable to internalize their accomplishments, originally described by psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes in 1978.)

The imposter syndrome is not new to me. It’s annoying and sometimes inhibiting (like when I’m wondering if a blog I’m writing for Writer Unboxed about writing rules will ever be good enough), but I’d rather feel like a fraud than suffer from the Dunning-Kruger effect which is when you really aren’t that good (in fact you’re downright incompetent) but because you don’t know you’re incompetent, you have an over-inflated sense of yourself. (Although, maybe from a personal happiness standpoint, this would be better because I’d think every blog post I ever wrote, every thing I ever wrote period was fabulous, even if no one else did—and how would I know?) This is kind of the fake it ’til you make it without knowing you’re doing it syndrome.

And I’m also relieved that I don’t have the Peter Principle—when someone rises to their highest level of incompetence, promoted until they reach a position at which they can no longer work competently. Eventually (according to Wikipedia) this leads to all work being done by people who have not yet reached their level of incompetence. This would be like me getting a position teaching about writing three rules for writing a novel when I clearly feel like an impostor even writing this blog.

One thing I know I don’t have is the overconfidence effect—an overblown sense of my own competence—because if I did, I wouldn’t hesitate to offer my three rules for writing fiction and a whole lot more.

Writing Rules!

Now, the transition back to those three rules. The truth is that writing doesn’t fit neatly into rules or into business syndromes or principles or effects. Not everyone thinks or creates alike, so there is no one-size fits all. There are whole books for grammar, for style, for craft, and there are as many or more rules than there are even writing experts. Which brings us back full circle to Maugham.

And my three rules, which I finally figured out:

  1. Write
  2. Revise
  3. Repeat

Because when all is said and done, I have the simplest rule of all. Just write. That’s all I have to offer. Write. Because for me it’s not about the writing rules, it’s that writing rules.

Do you suffer from Impostor Syndrome (or one of the others)? Do you believe in rules for fiction? Your turn to share your three (or more or less) rules for writing fiction.

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About Julia Munroe Martin

Julia Munroe Martin (@jmunroemartin) is a writer and blogger who lives in an old house in southern coastal Maine. Julia's other passion is photography, and if she's not writing at the dining room table or a local coffeeshop, you'll likely find her on the beach or dock taking photos. Julia writes The Empty Nest Can Be Murder mystery series as J. M. Maison.

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Comments

  1. I think you’re a fake, Julia. No, not like that … in the true sense. I don’t think there is a Julia Munroe Martin. Too perfect. Sounds exactly like someone who would write mysteries, really gripping mysteries. Who has a name like that?

    But, wait, you write using a pseudonym. Hmmm, an obvious cover. Perhaps you’re an imposter, an actual imposter. So, J.M., what have you done with Julia?

    That’s it, I’m certain now. I know these things because I’m an imposter too. But since you gave me a morning smile, your secret is safe with me. For now.
    ____

    My woeful attempt at humor having passed, you can breathe a sigh. In all seriousness, thanks, Julia. Your post is a perfect balance, laugh out loud funny while making salient points. Some days I suspect I’ve made it through the entire list of mental constructs (repeatedly). The only solution I’ve found is to write, just to keep writing until the voices fade beneath the narrative in my head, the story aching to make it to the page. In the end that’s what matters.

    Have a great weekend, Julia (or whoever you are)

    • Glad you enjoyed it, John! And I appreciate the humor so much. And I also am glad you thought I got a good balance in the post (laugh out loud is a huge compliment, thank you). Just keep writing is my mantra as well. As for the pseudonym…let me clear up the mystery. I use it for just that (my mystery writing) and my real name I use for querying. I added my middle name because when I googled “Julia Martin” there seem to be a small nation of us (including on Amazon). Thanks again for your wonderful comment!

  2. Julia–
    Your post is valuable in several respects, but in particular I like the way it prods us to stop doing endless homework, to make up our minds. What is most important? Stop what Freud called Displacement–doing or thinking about one thing to avoid doing or thinking about another.
    I can’t face the anxiety of writing, so I’ll spend even more time reading about writing. I’ll feel virtuous, hard-working, and better informed for the day–some time down the road–when I actually get to work writing.
    In her usual, generous way, Cathy Yardley answered all the comments made in response to her post yesterday. She concluded her reply to mine with this: “It’s funny–so many of the issues I bump into with writers is a matter of terminology.”
    I think your post encourages us to choose a set of principles, terms or watchwords, instead of flitting from one to another. And with those in hand, to “just write.”
    Thanks, Julia. I think that’s very good advice.

    • I’m so glad you found it valuable, Barry. And, yes, getting down to the business of writing is what it’s all about for me these days. Thank you for the pointer to Cathy’s post (I hadn’t read it yet and it was so wonderful!) Yes, I’m done flitting…just write is my advice to myself. One of the things I love most about Writer Unboxed and conversing with other writers is being encouraged so I’m very happy if I can give that back a little. Thank you, Barry.

  4. I think my three rules for writing are how I autograph my book on writing:
    Write!
    Rewrite!
    Enjoy!

  5. Impostor syndrome. Oh, yes. And here I thought it was just me. I had a dream last night that a woman who looked like Jacqueline Bisset informed me that the chapter I’m presently working on was poo-poo (her words). I’ve chosen not to write this dream into my dream journal. I’m going to wait and see what my editor thinks. But you know I’ve got “poo-poo” ringing in my ears. So, my first rule is; ‘write, every day, no matter what.” Second rule; try not to believe my own thoughts (or dreams). Third rule; read, read, read. Fourth rule; take the best teachings from the best teachers and file them in a reachable place. Wonderful post. thank you!

    • I love your rules, simple and approachable, so glad you shared them. Reading is so key, I agree. And not believing dreams (or internal thoughts) is so critical…and to that end, I’m with you, no recording the poo poo dream!! :-) Glad you enjoyed the post

  6. Great post, thank you! Your three simple rules are my rules too. Actually, I find all the other rules and prohibitions floating around out there to be quite inhibiting. When I try to follow them all, I usually can’t write a word.

  7. When I was a teenager (many, many years ago) I dreamed of being a published author, but then life interrupted. You know, school, fun, job, marriage, kids, divorce blah, blah blah. Well, recently I have found I have some time to myself and the bug has bitten again. Hallelujah! (Insert angelic choir here) Then it occurred to me, who would want to read what I want to write? Who the hell do I think I am? I must have an over inflated sense of self importance. Um, Dunning-Kruger…maybe? Or perhaps I’m an imposter? Or, God forbid, I’m BOTH!!

    My point is; thank you for your most timely blog and I guess I’m not the only one with all these insecurities.

    Write
    Re-write, and
    Write on

  8. Julia, I love your three rules, and how in doing all your searching you found one rule to rule them all. I live by that rule.

    I want to throw in an analogy that came to mind as I read your post. The process of writing novels reminds me of playing chess. There are countless books written on how to play well, but there is no one strategy for how to play it right. The only way to improve your chess is to play lots of games and to think critically with every game. It is helpful to study the wisdom of grandmasters and the outcomes of popular games, but leaning too much on the rules and tricks learned in these books can put blinkers on when it’s time to think about the next best move. One must balance between creativity and spontaneity unique to the specific moment in the game, and the bigger picture as gleaned by rules and patterns learned in analysis.

    What a wonderful topic to reflect on as I start the next chapter in my novel this weekend. Time to get creative, inventive, and keep the many guidelines in perspective as I make the best choices I can, and continue to learn.

    • I really love the comparison with chess, John — it is so right on. Especially this: “One must balance between creativity and spontaneity unique to the specific moment in the game, and the bigger picture as gleaned by rules and patterns learned in analysis.” Exactly. Such a good analogy. Thanks for sharing!

  9. Great post. Impostor syndrome is best dealt with as Ray Pace writes above, “Fake it till you make it.” Thank you for this encouragement.

  10. Three rules? I’ve written three books on writing fiction. (Actually, four to date plus a compendium volume.) Ask me, the techniques of making fiction great number, so far, in the hundreds.

    But, hey, let’s see if I can boil it down, maybe not into rules but principles…

    1) Plot problems will only carry your story a short distance. Scenes will take your story a bit farther if they enact change of direction and change inside. However, the only thing that will carry you (and your readers) all the way through four hundred pages are one second bursts of micro-tension.

    2) Writing your story the way it ought to be written in order to succeed and it will actually cause you to fail. Only a story with a unique shape and urgent purpose will succeed, and to succeed that that shape must be original and that purpose must be personal to you.

    3) Style, voice, characters, plot and theme all matter greatly but none of them matter in the slightest until readers are engaged emotionally.

    Oh, but wait I just thought of another, and another, and…forget it. Anyway, rules are wrong when they rule writing. Writing “rules” should serve storytellers, not the other way around.

    Fun post!

      • Well, I haven’t dropped off the face of the Earth, I just have journeyed to the other side of it. I’ll be able to pop in once in a while, just not as often as I’m accustomed to.

    • One of your books is one of my very favorite books on writing fiction, Don (Writing the Breakout Novel) so I very much appreciate receiving your three principles, thank you! Quite helpful, thank you! And I couldn’t agree more than writing rules should serve storytellers! Glad you enjoyed.

  11. Good post, Julia. Sadly, I have met too many people with that Dunning-Kruger effect. I tend more to that imposter effect, so your post resonated with me. And that’s silly, because I just found out a short story of mine is a finalist in a contest, and the first chapter of my WIP was also a finalist in a contest. You’d think I’d be able to lock that insecurity up somewhere. :-)

    I love your three rules, if we have to have rules at all. I like to call them suggestions or guidelines. Too many new author read a blog with writing rules and think the rules are cast in stone, never to be broken. Then they pass misinformation on to their friends who are just starting out. Suddenly nobody can use the verb ‘was.’ :-)

    • Huge congratulations on the short story and first chapter!! That’s wonderful! Good post, Julia. Dunning-Kruger effect does seem to be rampant (but clearly you don’t suffer from it …those recognitions prove otherwise!). It’s very hard to counter the voices in our head, though, I know so well. Suggestions and guidelines is a good way to present “rules,” I agree. And we all have our own… including using was if we want to :-) Congrats again, Maryann!!

  12. I actually have 6 rules: read, write, eat, sleep, exercise, repeat. I like to keep my mind and body well-balanced. That way my characters will like me more and allow me greater access to their personal lives.

    • Such an excellent point, Alejandro… and in this post I didn’t cross into that balance territory, but I agree with you on your rules. I used to write immediately when I got up, often “forgetting” the exercise component, but now I am at the gym first, realizing that important mind-body link. Well balanced is definitely the way to go!

  13. I think if you feel 100% competent in your job–whether you’re a writer, artist, teacher, lawyer, or anything else–it’s for one of two reasons.

    1) You’re not as competent as you think you are.

    2) You’re in a rut. You’re staying in a tiny zone of the safe and familiar, not pushing yourself to try new things and grow.

    Being in the first category is embarrassing, and being in the second means you’ll soon join the ranks of the first. You’ll be that teacher who recycles lesson plans from the 90s, or that computer programmer who uses Perl for everything and refuses to learn other languages, or that author who writes the same stale story over and over with only minor cosmetic differences.

    There isn’t a special title of Certified Writer reserved only for the most perfect and seasoned of storytellers. The only criteria for being a writer is to write. So you’re not an imposter for acknowledging that there are things you don’t know, or that other writers are more skilled than you are. You’re a writer who’s still learning and improving, just like the rest of us.

    • I really love this, T.K., and it’s important for me to remind myself from time to time. I really especially like this: “The only criteria for being a writer is to write.” That’s so true. Thank you for your thoughtful and encouraging comment!

    • That’s a really excellent point…finishing is critical. I do have some unfinished projects (by choice), but I agree starting is often easier than finishing for me as well. Sometimes for me the bigger question is, once done, when is it done enough?

  17. Great post, Julia! One important writing “rule” I try to impress upon my creative writing students is to read actively. Most writers love to read, which is wonderful, but they read passively, i.e. for enjoyment.

    Read with your writing hat on. Ask yourself questions while you’re reading. What’s working in this story? What isn’t? What makes these characters so engaging? Why isn’t this scene working? Keep asking those questions and then try to put the answers to good use in your story.

    • So true, Jackie, reading actively is so critical! Such good questions to ask, and I’m so glad you shared. Sometimes I find myself reading actively and feeling like I do or don’t like something or knowing it doesn’t work, but not really knowing why so it’s good to have questions in mind. Last year I bought Francine Prose’s book on Reading Like a Writer, and I keep putting off reading it, waiting for a perfect time…I should move that to the top of my pile. Thank you for the reminder!

  18. Oh, but there are some other rules of writing! Here are some of them:

    “Anybody can write a three-volume novel. It merely requires a complete ignorance of both life and literature.”
    — Oscar Wilde

    “I have heard a thousand masterpieces talked out over bars, restaurant tables, and loveseats. I have never seen one of them in print. Books must be written, not talked.”
    — Morris L. West

    “Only amateurs say that they write for their own amusement. Writing is not an amusing occupation. It is a combination of ditch-digging, mountain-climbing, treadmill and childbirth. Writing may be interesting, absorbing, exhilarating, racking, relieving. But amusing? Never!”
    — Edna Ferber

    “There are three difficulties in authorship: to write anything worth publishing, to find honest men to publish it, and to get sensible men to read it.”
    — C. C. Colton

    “Write drunk; edit sober.”
    — Ernest Hemingway

    “Write without pay until somebody offers pay. If nobody offers within three years, the candidate may look upon this circumstance with the most implicit confidence as the sign that sawing wood is what he was intended for.”
    — Mark Twain

  19. Oof! I feel your pain here. For one thing, I often feel like I have imposter syndrome too. For another, I feel absolutely overwhelmed and fatigued by the overabundance of “writing rules” out there. I think for me it comes down to educating myself as much as possible, but then trusting my gut. If a popular “rule” doesn’t work for me or a certain story, I let it go. I do like yours, though: write. Nice post!

    • It really makes me feel better to know I’m not the only one with impostor syndrome especially when it’s a writer that I admire so much — thank you, Annie. It sounds like you and I have very similar reactions to the overabundance of rules, etc., and so I doubly appreciate your kind words. Thank you!

  20. I appreciated your post. My three writing rules:
    1. Join a critique group, and attend regularly. Consider the feedback.
    2. Learn to write dialogue well. That way, you can “show” more often than “tell.”
    3. When you discover which words you overuse (and we ALL do), be sure and search your manuscript for them.

    • So glad you appreciated it, and I really like your rules as well. I have to say that the overuse words one is one of my favorite things to pay attention to — when I edit out words I use frequently I know I cut many words from manuscripts. Such good advice.