My sister-in-law sent me a cool link to the Guardian newspaper, which was running a series in which authors submitted their Rules for Writing. There’s some good stuff in there, such as:
“Read it aloud to yourself because that’s the only way to be sure the rhythms of the sentences are OK (prose rhythms are too complex and subtle to be thought out – they can be got right only by ear)” — Diana Athill
“Finish the day’s writing when you still want to continue.” — Helen Dunmore
There’s tons more, too.
As an interesting contrast, here’s Mandy Hubbard’s take on Nine Rules to Break. It’s a super cool list, and is very freeing (unlike the Guardian’s line-up of literary heavyweights, which is likely to have you throwing up your arms in surrender).
So what do I think? Well, it’s like this . . .
In a former life, I taught undergraduate music theory, including the really hardcore stuff that has its own terminology, set of symbols, and looks suspiciously like it wants to be quantum physics, only it’s not. So anyway, one day, I had everyone in my class analyze a particularly gnarly Bach chorale, and someone found hidden octaves. I know, I know! You’re thinking: “Bach had hidden octaves!? What a LOSER!” And I’d agree with you, really I would, only I couldn’t for the life of me HEAR the darn things. And the lesson of the, um . . . lesson, was that CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING.
Seriously, kill your darlings, or don’t kill your darlings. I really don’t mind. You made them up, after all, so you should be allowed to determine the precise, grisly details of their demise.
Yes, overuse of adverbs is grating after a while. So is routine avoidance of “said” in favor of “hissed” and “whispered” and “cried.” But there’s a place for all these things, and it has everything to do with context.
What Bach taught me, and what I’d have said if the Guardian had asked me to write some rules, is that rules are frequently not rules at all: they are successful techniques that have been used often enough in the past that we would be wise to take note of them now. But if Bach can break them, then I sure as heck intend to. And so should you.
Well, except for hidden octaves. You have to draw the line somewhere.
