Breaking the Novel Writing Rules

Most things in life are governed by rules, and it is no different with novel writing rules.

As you progress through the articles on this website, you will come across hundreds of instructions about what you should and should not do.

And they are good instructions, too - every last one of them!

But at some point you must have the courage to trust your instincts and break the rules of writing.

I don't mean that if you want to be a good, or even a great, novelist you must discard the writing rules entirely.

Do that and the novel you write probably won't be terribly good - and it certainly won't be publishable.

But if you go to the other extreme and always follow every single rule to the letter, your novel will end up being - well, kind of dull and mechanical.

Breaking the Writing Rules - Some Examples

Here at Novel Writing Help, I tell you that The King of Dialogue Rules states that fictional conversations should always be in conflict. Now, that's a good rule...

Without one of the speakers wanting something that the other speaker isn't willing to give - information, permission to do something, whatever - you don't have dialogue so much as a "pleasant conversation" - and they are guaranteed to send your readers straight to sleep.

Sometimes, though, your instincts will tell you that a pleasant conversation - one that begins and ends happily, and with no crossed words in the middle - is exactly what is called for at this point in the story...

• Not just at the end of the novel, when all the fighting is over.
• But somewhere along the way, when a moment of non-conflict can act as a contrast to the fights that have been before and the bigger fights to come.

So break the novel writing rules!

Here at Novel Writing Help, I tell you that the best way to describe a setting is to mix the fancy Descriptive Writing with some action.

Taking two pages to describe a beautiful beach, say, before your character even sets foot on it, is another great way to send the readers to sleep.

Instead, the rule says, start with a line or two of description, then introduce your character into the setting, then write a little more description, then some dialogue, and so on.

Again, that is a good rule, and you should stick to it - mostly. But somewhere in your novel, having a great slab of description will be exactly right.

Let's say you are writing an adventure novel about an explorer searching for some ancient pirates' treasure.

When the explorer finally unearths the treasure, somewhere near the end, and opens the lid of the wooden chest, the sight of the gold and the jewels in the sunlight will surely warrant a page or two or pure poetic description.

So break the rules of writing!

The key to knowing when, and when not, to break the rules is to always trust your ear and your instincts. If something works, it works, regardless of what the writing guides tell you.

The novel writing rules are important - crucial, in fact. But with time and practice you must learn to be their master, not their slave.