7 Writing "Rules" These Successful Authors Break

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If you’ve ever taken a writing class or workshop, or even searched for writing advice online, you’ve likely come across all kinds of writing “rules” that other authors swear by. But rules are meant to be broken - and plenty of writers have found success by defying conventional wisdom. Over the past year, I’ve spoken with many successfully published authors and asked them: “What is one writing ‘rule’ that you decidedly break?” Here’s what they had to say.
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MORE WRITING AND PUBLISHING ADVICE:
5 Writing Rules You Should Totally Break: • 5 Writing Rules You Sh...
Terrible Writing Advice You Should Ignore: • Terrible Writing Advic...
What 7 Literary Agents Wish You Knew About Publishing: • What 7 Literary Agents...
WRITING “RULES” THAT MANY AUTHORS BREAK:
02:02 - Use popular tropes
03:06 - Write every day
03:57 - Don’t revise as you write
05:01 - Adhere to genre expectations
06:20 - Write chronologically
07:12 - Explain unfamiliar words and concepts
08:26 - Follow all grammar rules
ABOUT ME:
My name is Alyssa Matesic, and I’m a professional book editor with nearly a decade of book publishing and editorial experience. Throughout my career, I’ve held editorial roles across both sides of the publishing industry: Big Five publishing houses and literary agencies. The goal of this channel is to help writers throughout the book writing journey-whether you're working on your manuscript or you're looking for publishing advice.
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1 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 44

@zedxx 5 месяцев назад

Thank you for squashing "you can't edit while drafting", one of the most toxic writing advices out there. I'm a pantser and I edit as I go. Every time I hear this advice, it's like my way of writing is not valid and it's soul crushing to hear. Zadie Smith does this too and she says, "If you edit as you go along, there are no first, second, third drafts. There is only one draft, and when it’s done, it’s done."

@RoxanaLine 5 месяцев назад

I completely agree! I don’t like this concept of a “crappy draft”, just no. I can’t write further until the previous scene looks good and makes sense.

@jeffrey3498 13 дней назад

Completely agree too!

@TheEccentricRaven 5 месяцев назад

It's important to know yourself as a writer, know what works for you, and know what's best for you. I've heard the advice before - "Don't write every day. Don't stress yourself. Don't force yourself to write when you don't want to." I know this advice applies to many writers and is helpful to many. I have to politely plug my ears to this advice. I have to write every day and make myself write. If I don't, I'm too depressed when I lack progress. It's worth making myself write every day because I feel happy and satisfied when I progress. I wouldn’t say this applies to everyone. It's what's best for me and best for some. You might not know what works best for you right away, but only you can find it.

@hannahkennelly6961 5 месяцев назад

Alot of writer videos talk about the 3 act structure, but for my stories im leaning to try Kishotenketsu, the Japanese 4 act structure. Thank you for the video, I also have tropes people say you shouldn't use, but its kind of important to one of my stories.

@ianlovell6709 5 месяцев назад

I don't work on my manuscript every day, but I do try to do something creative such as work on my music or poetry. It still keeps my mind active, which in turn makes it easier to go back when I feel I'm ready

@drgillykahn 5 месяцев назад

Alyssa, your videos have been so incredibly helpful to me on my writing journey. I can’t thank you enough. ❤ Your content is amazing.

@brightlyart 5 месяцев назад

Thank you so much for these! I feel like a lot of this advice has actually held me back from writing the way I naturally, productively do. I am a writer/editor, and I find it very hard to revisit what I've written for NaNoWriMo because I know it was forced and not polished. I'm relieved to know that different is good! 🥰

@JustClaude13 5 месяцев назад

I just finished my first NaNo and find my first draft is surprisingly readable because I was too obsessive to keep writing without going back and fixing typos as I went. And once ripped out an entire scene because it felt wrong. I had to rewrite everything to make it fit the rest of the book before I could start the next scene. I think you should approach NaNoWriMo the way you normally write, just accelerated to finish the 50,000 words on schedule. I'm currently doing the character development and outlines for this November.

@abigailslade3824 5 месяцев назад

Nice video Alyssa

@SwamiRabbi 5 месяцев назад

Awesome video. Good writers who understand how to stay true to their story and characters will always find it necessary to break some rules...

@rowan7929 5 месяцев назад

Agreed. I never write what tropes are current. I write what I want and how I depict my characters and the world they live in. Regardless the themes.

@samp4050 2 месяца назад

Yes! I'm so glad to hear that rules are made to be broken Alyssa. I have always been a maverick, and still am as a debut author. I read that the hugely successful author, Colleen Hoover, is also a rule breaker so she is definitely proof of this. 😊

@waynegathers587 5 месяцев назад

Sound info that allows me to be creative in my writing. That is why I do not submerge myself with too many rules of dos and don'ts. Don't get me wrong there is rules to writing but when you focus too much on those rules it could make writing a challenge instead of naturally refreshing.

@sharikrafsan1600 5 месяцев назад

Start watching...

@codingwithguyfranciscopoli9887 Месяц назад

I'm far too OCD to not revise as I write. Therefore, my first drafts are never really first drafts. I have no idea what draft I'm on when I reach the end.

@sarahchambers4381 5 месяцев назад

Hi, Alyssa! I appreciate you taking the time, each week, to educate your viewers on the "ins and outs" of the publishing world! Personally, the advice you shared in this video was both helpful and timely. It's as if a weight has been lifted off me. I've only heard the advice to get my story down on paper, as quickly as possible. Just get that first draft written. "First drafts are just first drafts, and they are going to be crappy. Save your polishing for the second and third drafts." While, I know there will still be plenty of polishing in my second and third drafts, I personally need that strong foundation as author, Bianca Marais stated. I get discouraged with my work whenever I've tried to postpone the polishing. In contrast, it feels great to get a section polished up to the point where I wouldn't feel embarrassed to have other people read it. Once it feels good, I move forward. However, even when I'm camped out in a section, I find other ways of moving forward. I take time to plot, organize, research, and day dream concerning where the story is headed. That's what works best for me. Thank you, again, for all you do! 🙂💖

@AlyssaMatesic 5 месяцев назад

So glad you've found what works for you! Thanks for sharing your process :)

@PetProjects2011 5 месяцев назад

I'd argue that it's probably easier to get away with breaking these rules once you become an established, name author, and your publishers don't care after that.

@greggorsag9787 5 месяцев назад

This is a great video. I agree that rules are guides, not requirements. That said, it’s best to be like Picasso and Matisse: Learn the rules before you start breaking them! And, yeah, you don’t have to kill all your darlings, but adverbs are another matter altogether.

@Fuliginosus 5 месяцев назад

'No surfing is rule #1.

@sarahcorine1993 5 месяцев назад

I would love to learn more about the difference between plot driven and character driven.

@teacherninina 5 месяцев назад

My first book I tried to avoid 'this and that', follow rules 1,2,34....etc etc.... At the end, I barely could recognize the thing. I learned a lot, for sure, bu the second I want to be free of so many rules.

@SpaceWoof04 5 месяцев назад

Some of these were extremely nice to hear, like don't write everyday and it's okay to revise as you write. I recently watched a video of a girl that basically said, "your first story is going to suck. Nobody will read it and you just need to start writing. Brainstorming your story isn't doing anything and making everything perfect is a waste of time when you should be writing." I'm starting my first story and she has published books so I'm sure she knows more than me but I wholeheartedly disagreed with what she was saying. I feel for me, writing randomly and not planning is why my first story will suck. This video reassured me that the approach I'm taking is what's best for me and it works, so I appreciate it! Earned a sub :)

@AlyssaMatesic 5 месяцев назад

It's definitely all about finding what works best for you! So glad this video resonated with you - thanks for the comment and the sub! :)

@zanemarion7211 5 месяцев назад

Rules are just guides. Nothing more. Learn the rules before you break them. Learn when to break them. Like I have a scene of a child opening his eyes after a nightmare. It all is just single word phrases. Darkness. Light. Dark. Light. His eyes blinked. Screams escaped his lungs. His voice became hoarse.

@bobhallway5507 5 месяцев назад

Just a random on the internet, I feel like the only rule to remember is there are approximately 450 million English speakers. That means there are at least 200 people that will be interested in your story. But in the end write what you feel.

@vandaken3612 5 месяцев назад

My question about explaining unfamiliar words (Mansi Shah), is what if those words are made up words for the purpose of the story, should I leave it as is knowing that only people who are close to me and have heard me use those words are the only ones that would understand them or should I find a subtle way of explaining them?

@tomgrant3893 5 месяцев назад

I've had the grammar police on me about comments I've made on other issues, an author I've listened to say- It's not the grammar, it's the comment, the grammar complaint was the excuse to complain.

@BoneistJ 5 месяцев назад

You have to know the forms to seek the formless. Without understanding the fundamentals, you won't know which rules to follow, bend or break for what works for your story.

@Faolandia 5 месяцев назад

She is not talking about "seeking the formless". The point is that there are many "rules" out there that are not universal. And they are not "fundamentals", either.

@larssjostrom6565 5 месяцев назад

I break your rule to read in the genre that I write in, since it become cake upon cake like we swedes say to read and write in the same genre.

@thehouseofVEGA 5 месяцев назад

The next best writer is somewhere in isolation watching your video

@andrewmurray7052 5 месяцев назад

I totally broke the rule write every day. I dont used a outline because Im a discovery writer and I dont think it will help me when I write my question is this is it okay to jump around and wrire different chapters?

@AlyssaMatesic 5 месяцев назад

It's definitely okay to jump around when writing - I know lots of writers that don't write chronologically! It's all about finding what works for you. :)

@wind-upboy939 5 месяцев назад

I am not a professional writer. I write stories, I like to read. So, I'm not interested in popular tropes at all. If tropes I use are popular fine. If not, also fine. Sometimes I don't use full sentences in an attempt to create tension. Sometimes, it even works. Not being a full time writer, I sadly often don't have the energy to write some more. No, I simply can't manage to write every day.

@cjpreach 5 месяцев назад

I have my list of "Top Ten Guidelines for Writers." No "rules," just helpful hints, guidleines, suggestions. One is "Apply only those "helpful hints" that actually work for you.

@AlyssaMatesic 5 месяцев назад

Love this - I think only applying what works for you is the most important "rule" of all!

@johnrichards6080 5 месяцев назад

Rule number 1 - Never, ever, open a novel with someone waking up (unless your character is called Katniss).

@joefraracci6748 5 месяцев назад

Limit commas. If the sentence works without a comma lose the comma. It looks better on the page.

@LegitRespect 5 месяцев назад

First!

@androgynouscloud8726 2 месяца назад

I'm sorry, but the ONLY requirement of romance genre is that it has a happy ending or at least a "happy for now". Otherwise it's a love story not a romance. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with writing a love story without a happy ending, and there are absolutely phenomenal stories with sad endings, just that it's not a romance. If you sell something as "romance" but there's no happy ending or "happy for now" your readers will feel betrayed.