2009 Debutantes

I probably break rules left, right, and center. Ignorance is bliss, I tell you. :)

"Oh, yes, that rule? When I broke it, I was making a statement about breaking free from tyranny. The commas I omitted symbolize authoritarianism." ;-)

What writing rule do you love to break? What is the effect you’re going for when you break it? Does it work? Have you had to fight anyone who wants to preserve the rule?

There is no one in particular that I break regularly. But I will break any rule if I think it will do something spectacular. Sometimes if I get too surreal I have to be reined back in- but that's because things that are clear in my mind aren't necessarily really clear. I find out the hard way. :D

My favorite writing rule to break is "write what you know." I love exploring new ideas about topics and situations and characters that I have no experience with or preconceived notions about. I love researching and making stuff up as I go and coming out of it having either learned or created (or both!) something entirely new and exciting. Writing new things keeps my work fresh rather than just a retelling of what I already know. Maybe the rule should just be to write HOW you know.

Another rule I break often is "always write in complete sentences." I break and split and recombine my sentences all the time to achieve a specific cadence or rhythm, to mix up the flow, or to convey some kind of emotion - especially when writing in first person and especially when my characters are in some kind of turmoil (which is most of the time).

A great book on breaking the rules to invigorate your writing is Spunk & Bite: A Writer's Guide to Bold, Contemporary Style by Arthur Plotnik. It's kind of the anti- Strunk & White's "Rules" and it's lots of fun mixed in with good, practical tips for revamping stale writing.

One of my favorite quotes is, "I write what I can find out." But I don't remember who said it. Sigh. I love researching and learning new things, too.

As one of the speakers at the PWC said a few years back, the rule to "show, not tell" is made to be broken. You can tell, or show, but not both.

I like to do both, but alternating. Scene & summary, as Gregory Frost said.
Hmm, does that make the new rule "Show and tell"?

My favorite rule to follow is "write what you know", because even in the most outlandish fantasy, there are human relationships that are familiar to me, and I can't connect with a reader unless I write about them.

My favorite rule to break is "avoid fancy words", because I have a large vocabulary. I talk using big interesting words, and I like reading books with them too, so why shouldn't I write with them.I figure why write a whole sentence when one really good word would do just as well?

My least favorite rule to follow, but still do is "revise and edit". It just isn't nearly as fun as writing

John Updike and Anthony Burgess are both masters of using "fancy words" well, without tripping up the reader.

To change or not to change. I had two agents tell me my MC was unlikable. Should I change her sarcastic voice?

coll

I say, not completely. I think first and foremost is having a main character that people want to spend 300 pages with. You can have a sarcastic character, just as long as she isn't a complete hard shell of meanness and doom and gloom-- most people aren't like that in the real world... even hard-seeming people have layers, things that make them melt. My character in FL is snarky, but she's not unlikable. My first draft, she was bordering on mean and obnoxious, and my editor made me soften her. I think you can give your MC a sarcastic edge without making her evil. What is her flaw? What is her fear? What would make her melt?

I constantly (sigh) break the "write every day" rule. To me, it's like riding a bicycle. A few days off here and there isn't going to kill you; in fact, if you're as busy as I am, I think it's essential to preserve your sanity.

I completely agree, Cyn. There's very little that I do every single day, except brush my teeth. Sometimes you just have to live--and maybe do the dishes you've been ignoring for a bit too long...

My books are heavy on dialogue. Extremely heavy on dialogue. So, if I were to follow the old, "Don't use any other word but "said" when writing dialogue," rule, that would be one repetitive book. I break it in two ways. First, my characters bark and sneer and laugh their words when appropriate. And, second--and here's the one that would kill my college fiction professor--my dialogue is riddled with adverbs. My characters say things menacingly, laughingly, deliberately, nervously, seductively...the gamut.

And, to Updike, or whoever wrote those odious rules, I confess...I break them. Gleefully.

Edited at 2008-09-22 12:31 pm (UTC)

Aside from doing every single no-no thing listed on the Blueboards' thread 101 Things I Learned By Reading YA (which, I believe, is on 107 things right now), I also frequently manage to break the grammar rule of using complete sentences.

Why? Punch. Impact. Vigor. BAM!

(Or at least give the impression that my narrative voice is William Shatner or Emiril Lagasse.)

Oh, and (duh) link my blog, baby!

I've never met a comma I didn't like. I adore adverbs and I don't usually. Write. Complete. Sentences.

I tend to write what I know, even if my characters are not like me (in terms of identity, I mean). In other words, emotions are a universal language. As long as I stick to the humanity of a character, I find I'm okay.

However, if I was writing from the POV of someone from within the top three percent wealth bracket, I wouldn't know where to begin. I could only go by what I've seen on TV and read about in magazines and others' books -- but then I'd run the risk of creating flat, stereotypical characters who are in danger of becoming caricatures.

Plus, I enjoy writing the experiences of women and girls -- particularly if those experiences haven't made it onto the page or screen in abundance.

I did get comments, when I was first subbing to agents, that were about getting me to adhere to certain rules that I'd consciously broken. It took some time to understand that I needed more experience with the actual rule before I could go around breaking it :D.

That said, the biggest rule I find myself breaking (and not always masterfully) is the Show don't Tell rule. I get slaps on the wrist aplenty for that one.

For getting an ear on rich people, try a customer service job in Midtown. I worked at a Broadway Box Office for a few years, did the trick for me. Of course, I'm not sure it's worth the pain and suffering, but...hey, at least you make minimum wage in the process.

I love adverbs a little too much. :) This blog is v. cool. Now I have books to look forward to next year!

Welcome! (I have a weakness for adverbs too. Even if it is a forbidden love.) :-)

I'm here to win stuff!

Which writing rules do I break?

Um...

I guess you'll have to find out when my book comes out. =D

Congratulations! You win my love! <3 <3 <3

Wait, there are _rules_?

Whenever grammar comes up against rhythm, rhythm always wins. That said, there's a copy of Strunk & White right next to my monitor. I consult it often.

I also like to make up words sometimes, which seems to bother some people.

Dude. I totally worderize.

I'm not a writer, so I don't know what rules I'm am breaking (if any). Probably if there's a rule about rambling on or stream-of-consciousness writing, then I am breaking it! I'm also in love with commas and exclamation points. I never much cared for grammar rules.

But I am a voracious reader always looking for something new. If I don't have a stack of 10 books on the nightstand waiting to read, then I will surely run out of books to read before my weekly library/bookstore trip! I was excited to come across this website for new books to add to the stack in 2009. I'm sure I will find many new "favorite" authors!

Oh, and I posted about this on my blog at: myfavoriteauthor.blogspot.com. We'd love to review your books and/or do a Q&A with you when your books are coming out if you are interested!

Speed Reader
myfavoriteauthor.blogspot.com

Dude, I am so interested. Shall we repair to e-mail so I can get your contact info to send you a review copy?

I like to use the present tense in my writing. I believe it lends immediacy to a certain kind of story. Some editors hate it. But I wrote the book I sold in the present tense, so it doesn't bother all of them :D

I like present tense too! Not in every project, but I've used it a fair amount.

YES!!! I didn't miss the deadline, that is.

You made it!

I have wanted to be an author since I was a little girl. I have recently been inspired by a close friend who is trying to get her novel picked up for publishing (it is an EXCELLENT book) to just write! If I get out one novel then the next one will be that more thrilling and maybe someday I can have something good enough to try and publish as well.

The rules I like to break when I write right now is...ALL OF THEM. I am the type of person that has to hash out the plot and characters and let them drive my story before going and looking for passive voice, show not tell, etc. Once I get all of that down then I can edit as need be. Honestly, I think ones writing is more organic when you throw out the rules and write as it comes to your head. Then it is purely you and can be more enjoyable to read.

I have not showed my unfinished work to many people, most of them that I have, have said "Let me know when you want to edit, cause I have some notes". But I have also gotten the response "I love your writing style, yes there are things that will get edited, but I trust you to do that. I like how easy and natural your writing is." So I guess you can't please everyone. But this is my theory on writing for the time being!

Good point--the internal editor often needs to be quiet during first-draft writing. It can speak up later, during revision.

Breaking Rules? Cool, rules. I never knew such a thing existed. I still can't remember what an adverb is. (looks for dictionary)

For me, "gerund" is the tough one to remember.

If my old school grammar teacher read my books, she'd die. Voice is key. Diagramming any current YA or MG would be a nightmare, wouldn't it? Know the rules, then break them with STYLE!

Hear, hear!

Rules? There are RULES??

Okay...I am the sentence fragment queen. I. Love. Them. (Kind of copying Neesha dear, but it's so true for me)

I also have to reel in my adjectives. And adverbs.

I hate outlines. I write differently for every book.

Can someone pass me the rule book. Seriously?

Apparently, a lot of us love fragments.

Like this.

Well I hate to edit--never edited my papers in high school and college--and I still got A's but I've realized that editing goes a bit further in fiction writing, it's not just about catching grammatical mistakes--which I do make--but more about tightening up ideas, plot lines and characters.

But I probably break the complete sentence, and dangling participle kind of rules all of the time. If you are writing real dialogue, you're breaking grammar rules like crazy or it wouldn't sound right.

Exactly. My characters are always saying "who" when I know darn well it's "whom," because THEY don't know it's "whom." Or if they do, they feel weird saying it.

I have this habit of using a lot of spacers....like those (can't remember what they're called). I usually have to go back and remove some of them, but all in all, I think the effect comes out well. :)

Terra
www.terrabehindthebooks.blogspot.com

Ooh yeah--and I love parentheticals, whether with dashes, ellipses, or actual parentheses!

Hey guys!! I would have been to link to the post regardless of the free stuff!! (Although, that is definite incentive!!)

http://terrabehindthebooks.blogspot.com/2008/09/books-n-stuff.html

I'm fond of breaking any rules that begins with "you can't" or "you must" because that triggers my mule instinct.

I tend to lead off with "OH YEAH?"

And I still say Batman can take Edward.

Whenever I hear someone ask, at a writers' conference, "Can you ever ..." the answer always seems to be, "Sure, sometimes!"

:) I think I break rules unintentionally because I wasn't aware I was breaking a sacred writing rule a lot more often than intentionally. One rule that I do consciously break from time to time, though, is writing in sentence fragments for--as many people have said above--dramatic effects. There are also certain cliches that I *know* are cliches and should be eliminated on sight (be they phrases or certain plot points), but those are often cliches that I love reading in books and thus keep.