A Frank Rant on the Rules of Writing

The books I’ve read on how-to-write-fiction dwell entirely too much on the old cliché: the only rule to writing is that there are no rules.

Poppycock. This is confusing, and on the surface, inaccurate. What it means is in the process of finding one’s voice, one must learn the rules of writing so one knows when to break the rules.

If the Boss has gifted you with a proprietary literary eye, I’ve never found a good writer who can’t master the craft with the following critique-key. These are the most common points of criticism I find in evaluating manuscripts for thefinishers.biz.

C = Cliché: clichés may be used in dialogue for your characters who speak that way, but nowhere else.

WV = Weak Verbage: Use was and were only when you must. Always use a root word when possible—it’s strongest. -ed endings are second choice, -ing is last choice.

PoV = Point of View: The rules of PoV are all over the Web—just Google it. Remember it’s bad form to go jumping through characters’ heads, revealing their thoughts in the same scene.

Q = Qualifier: Use Words like just and really, very, and sometimes deliberately. Which of the following sentences is stronger: "Qualifiers just really sometimes weaken." or "Qualifiers weaken."

! = over exclaiming: A weakness of the written word is lack of voice inflection. In order to inject a little life into e-mail and blogs, people have gotten used to using exclaimation points. When there are too many in fiction, they end up losing impact. Save these for when you really need them.

TnS = Telling, not Showing: Don’t say "She looked worried". Describe body language and facial expressions. "She winced, closed her eyes, and slumped as though her backpack on the table still weighted her shoulders."

CoS = Cognitive or Sensory: words like thought, wondered, remembered, heard, saw, tasted, etc. It’s stronger to simply state a character’s perceptions rather than include the cumbersome words that inform readers what they already know. Simply state/ describe action. Which is stronger: "Joe looked down the hall to see the man with the gun." or "The peacekeeper aimed the Ak-47 at Joe."

These simple tips can make a huge difference in your fiction. Writers are delighted to see what thefinishers.biz can do with a manuscript. We’ve pooled some great talent for literary and theological criticism, editing, and proofreading. If you have a manuscript that needs a final polish, contact us through the link at thefinishers.biz and His will be done.