are there rules for writing?

[Horserider92]

i mean does anyone know what not to do when writing.. of course i know that it's supose be your own writing (its always my own) but anyways are there rules such as don't start a story with someone talking..? or something else? does anyone know any?

[Wark]

Tons of them.

This doesn't mean that the reader would dislike it. But an agent and then an editor will frown at it.

I changed the start of my WIP because I was told that starting with a driving scene is not done. [I have no idea why, but the new version starts up right away.]

[DeleyanLee]

There are tons and tons of "rules for writing"--but you're best served if you pay attention to what you need to do to tell your story well and treat the "rules" like the Pirates' Code in PotC--more like guidelines.

[rugcat]

“There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” — W. Somerset Maugham.

[tengraceapples]

“There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” — W. Somerset Maugham.

Thats so true. Don't worry about the rules. You will have enough rules when you try to get an agent and go on to being published. For now, screw it. Have fun and do whatever you want so long as it serves the story. Honor the story. If there is a rule, it may be that: )

[KTC]

learn all the rules. know when to break them.

the best rule: write more better.

[Rachel]

There are tons and tons of "rules for writing"--but you're best served if you pay attention to what you need to do to tell your story well and treat the "rules" like the Pirates' Code in PotC--more like guidelines.

I agree!

Psst.... Camel Day.

[Stunted]

As people have said, there are only really "guidelines" to writing, but they exist for a reason and they shouldn't be ignored. You don't have to follow each one to the letter, but you should learn as many of them as you can and, more importantly, understand why they all exist.

In in my opinion, the less experience you have with writing, the more attention the rules should be paid. I learned that the hard way.

[BriMaresh]

I thought I'd add that most people chew you a new one if you start with a dream sequence, or the character looking in the mirror describing them self, but I can name a dozen books easy that do both things that sold and continue to sell just fine.

[Cassiopeia]

Yes, there are technical rules; the mechanics, as it were. Learn those, learn them well. Tell your stories using those rules and once you get fairly good at it, then and ONLY then can you break the rules.

[S.J.]

There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of rules on writing, but they're written by many people with different opinions. Some of them contradict. In fact, it's so difficult to decide which ones to follow that you might be better off without rules altogether. So, at the risk of sounding like some hippy chick, I'm going to say: Write what you want, how you want, and consider the rules only after you've got something written down. Learning them before writing a word is, in my experience, not useful. A hippy chick might say that they "stifle your creative instincts". Haha.

That being said, here are some ways for you to find some rules (or conventions, or guidelines, or whatever) on writing:

1. Read books (not that you don't already, haha). For instance, plenty of published works start with dialogue, so you can assume it's safe to do so.

2. Go through Absolute Write! There are SO MANY useful hints, tips, etc etc on here. It would take months of dedicated clicking to exhaust them all.

3. Surf the internet. After googling "rules on writing novels" I found this page: http://www.timothyfish.net/Articles/Article.asp?ID=147

And as Cassiopeia said, the 'mechanical' side of writing (aka grammar, syntax, blah blah) is also important.

I hope this helped you! If it didn't... well, obviously feel free to ignore me. :D

[wandergirl]

Indus (Amanda) wrote a really funny post about this on our group blog last week:

http://yahighway.blogspot.com/2009/09/writers-top-ten-tips-for-success.html

just change every Do into a Do Not -- and use the examples as what NOT to do.