7 Pieces of Writing Advice from Authors Who Break the Rules
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If you tap into virtually any writing community online or in person, you're likely to hear a laundry list of rules that every author should follow. But the truth is that writing is very much an art, not a science. While guidelines and tips can certainly be helpful in developing your craft, many of these writing rules that people tout are truly meant to be broken and aren't really rules at all.
Here are insights from successfully published authors who I've interviewed over the past year, specifically answering the question: What is one writing rule that you decidedly break? I hope this gives you some inspiration and helps you understand that if a rule isn't working for you, you can break it too.
1. Don’t Worry About Popular Tropes
The first piece of writing advice from authors who break the rules is to not worry about popular tropes. Here's some insight from Emily March, who is a New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author:
"I've written genre fiction for most of my career. Scandalously, I ignore tropes. I write the story I want to write. I've managed to be successful without fretting over how many currently popular tropes I've hit in chapter one. That's not to say that tropes aren't there, but they enter the story organically — not because I feel the need to feed the metadata.”
Authors are often curious about what tropes or genres are trending in a given month or year in the publishing world and are concerned that if they don't capitalize on these tropes that are trending, then their book is going to fall flat and no one is going to read it. But Emily's advice shows that you don't have to even think about tropes to be a successful author. If a certain trope resonates with you, then absolutely leverage it and put your own spin on it in your story. But if it doesn't help you to conceptualize your story in terms of what tropes it includes, then forget about them entirely.
2. Don’t Force Yourself to Write Every Day
The next writing “rule” that many successful authors break is to write every day. Here's some writing advice from author Lyn Liao Butler:
"I am not a fan of the write-every-day rule. I don't write every day, and I don't believe people should force themselves to write every day if they don't have an idea or are stuck on a point. For this reason, I almost never get writer's block. If I sit down and nothing is coming out, I will stop and go do something else.”
I wholeheartedly agree with Lyn’s point that you shouldn't write every day if this does not work for you. It's one of the most common pieces of writing advice that people give out that simply does not work for everyone. Every author's practice and habits look different, and there's no one-size-fits-all approach. You should never feel any shame in taking a break from writing or not writing on a day that you're supposed to if you simply cannot get the words down.
3. Revise as You Write, If You Want
This piece of writing advice comes from Bianca Marais, a bestselling author and the co-host of The Shit No One Tells You About Writing podcast:
"Many writers recommend that you get the first draft down, however messy, before you go back to edit it. But if the foundations don't feel solid, I can't keep building on them. And so I'll often go back and revise my opening chapters over and over again without making much progress after that until I'm finally happy with them.”
I work with authors who fall into both camps — those who just get down a messy first draft, no matter how messy it is, and then revise and find the story from there, and authors who work to polish up their story as they go and do some revision work in the drafting process. Again, one method is not better than another, and you can have a great finished draft either way. It's all about what works for you and what helps you stay on track as you draft.
4. Subvert Genre Expectations
Here's some writing advice from author and blogger Kern Carter, who also has a great newsletter called Writers Are Superstars:
"I don't conform to the structure of my genre. What I mean is that by label, I am a YA author. The main characters in my novels are teenagers, which is the general prerequisite for YA. But just because my characters are young doesn't mean I compromise depth or heavy themes. I have found a way to create these heavily layered stories through a plot-driven circle.”
So if, like Kern, your novel doesn't fit all of the standard expectations of your given genre, that's okay. It means you're bringing something new, fresh, and innovative to the table, which is a good thing!
We're seeing more and more authors experiment with blending and bending genres to great success — for instance, the rise of literary thrillers and the term "romantasy." If you're writing romance, for example, it doesn't mean that there necessarily has to be a happy ending. Or, if you're writing literary fiction, that doesn't necessarily mean that your story has to be much more character-driven than plot-driven.
Genre expectations can be helpful until they're not, according to authors who break the rules. If your book isn't meeting the genre expectations, that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it or that it's not valid. In fact, it might be even more captivating because of that.
5. Write Out of Order
Here's some writing advice from author and illustrator Victoria Ying:
"I start writing from the climax and write forward to the beginning. This usually helps me because I know where the character has to turn and change. I know where the main thrust of the story is heading.”
I totally see how Victoria’s approach can help you maintain continuity in your narrative because you know what the plot is ultimately building up to. When you're writing completely chronologically from beginning to end, even if you know what the climax is, sometimes you can get lost along the way, and the plot fall apart or take unexpected turns. This approach prioritizes the main dramatic moment of the story and makes sure that the rest of the narrative is all supporting that.
6. Don’t Explain Every Unfamiliar Element
The next writing rule that some successful authors break is to explain unfamiliar words and concepts. Here's what author Mansi Shah had to say:
"There's been a long-standing trend in publishing that authors writing about non-white experiences are expected to make those cultural differences easy for the reader and italicize and explain any words or concepts that aren't part of mainstream American culture. I want readers like myself who have sparse representation to be able to turn to my books and feel like they are coming home. So, I never break from my characters’ POVs to explain anything to the reader that the characters would already know.”
Mansi prioritizes the authenticity of her characters’ experiences, and she makes sure that those are reflected on the page, even if that means some readers are going to be unfamiliar with certain words or concepts being presented in the story. Remember that readers will have Google easily at their fingertips to figure things out in the story that you don't necessarily spoon-feed to them. So, if it feels more natural and and authentic to the characters’ experiences to leave certain elements unexplained on the page, then go ahead and let them be.
7. Break Grammar Rules
Authors who break the rules know that following all grammar rules to a tee is not required. Here's some writing advice from author Farrah Penn:
"Sometimes, breaking certain rules works better for your character's voice because we as humans don't always converse in prim and proper English. Reading my work out loud when I'm at the polishing stage helps me determine what sounds the best in regards to what I'm trying to express.”
Many dated grammatical rules don't sound natural to a contemporary reader and don't necessarily apply as well to contemporary stories, especially in dialogue. That's not to say that you should deliberately write grammatically incorrectly unless you are doing so for a specific reason, but don't fear that the grammar police are coming to arrest you if you make some grammatical errors here and there.
Farrah’s point about reading aloud is a really excellent tip, and many authors use this strategy to make sure that their characters’ voices sound authentic and that their prose in general is flowing organically.
Like all rules, writing rules are meant to be broken, and pretty much all published authors out there have broken some writing rules in one way or another. Thanks so much for reading, and happy writing!
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