Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Writers 10 Commandments

This is topic Writers 10 Commandments in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by Grijalva (Member # 3295) on :

I just thought it would be neat to post the top 10 things a writer shouldn't/should do,or know; maybe it will help people out; I know it would me. Commandment 1 is the highest.

Here is my shot at it:
1. Thou shalt not info dump.
2. Thou shalt know your tenses.
3. Thou shalt know your 6 tools. WOARES (Want, Obstacle, Action, Resolution, Emotion, Show)
4. Thou shalt know your grammar. (Working on this one)

Can't think of anymore at the moment.

[This message has been edited by Grijalva (edited May 09, 2006).]

Posted by Leigh (Member # 2901) on :

There's an actual 10 Commandments of Writing?

Posted by trousercuit (Member # 3235) on :

Thou shalt put no other person before the reader.

Posted by wbriggs (Member # 2267) on :

Don't break POV.
Don't think befuddling the reader will intrigue the reader.
Decide if it's Milieu, Idea, Character, or Event; and don't *end* the Idea story with the question.
*Do* info-dump -- just make sure every last bit of that dumped info is needed.
Don't break these commandments without a good reason; if you have one, do whatever you like.

[This message has been edited by wbriggs (edited May 10, 2006).]

Posted by Inkwell (Member # 1944) on :

My turn...

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"I am the Lore thy Guide, which have brought thee out of the land of E-zine, out of the publishing house of bondage.

I. Thou shalt have no other guides before me.

II. Thou shalt not make unto thee any grating imagery.

III. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lore thy Guide in vain, unless it maketh the reader giggle.

IV. Remember the subplot, and keep it wholly entertaining (or else).

V. Honor thy editor and thy reader: that thy publishing days may be long upon the fantasy market which the Lord of the Rings hath given thee.

VI. Thou shalt not kill a main character on page two.

VII. Thou shalt not commit apathy.

VIII. Thou shalt not steal ideas.

IX. Thou shalt not bear false pretense against thy reader.

X. Thou shalt not covet thy collaborator's hook, thou shalt not covet thy collaborator's nightlife, nor his manuscript, nor his oxymoron, nor his assonace, nor any written thing that is thy collaborator's."
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Hey, that was fun! Anybody up for a Writer's Book of Leviticus?

Inkwell
-----------------
"The difference between a writer and someone who says they want to write is merely the width of a postage stamp."
-Anonymous

[This message has been edited by Inkwell (edited May 10, 2006).]

Posted by hoptoad (Member # 2145) on :

Surely there is just one great commandment... hmm let me see

Posted by Elan (Member # 2442) on :

quote:
Don't break POV.

you know, I've been wondering JUST how sacred this rule is... now that I know about POV, I pay attention to it when I read. And the other night I was flipping through my much beloved copy of "Dune" when I found a passage written with both Jessica and Duke Leto's POV in the same section, same paragraph. It bounced from one to the other.

This is the second time I've discovered this in a published work by one of my favorite authors. I wonder how vigilant editors are about this issue, or is "POV" some sort of new "fad" that has only become common wisdom in the past few years?

I personally think keeping POV clean makes sense, but given the fact that established authors don't always honor it, how important IS it, really?

Just musing...

[This message has been edited by Elan (edited May 10, 2006).]

Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :

Maintaining POV is important enough that an author should have a very good reason for breaking it on those rare occasions when it's necessary. In my opinion, you don't always need a scene break to start a new POV, but you do need an excellent transitional phrase or two to make it work. Also, breaking POV (or more aptly put as switching POV, or even switching from third to omni) at the end of scenes is a time honored tradition. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. But you shouldn't do anything until you at least understand the "rules" you're breaking. That's my thoughts on it.

Posted by Silver3 (Member # 2174) on :

POV can be broken, like most of the other rules, if you have a really good reason to, and can make it work.

And Dune breaks many POVs. I don't remember if it's here we had a discussion on POV in Dune, but my position at the time was that since it was a book with so much telepathy, the POV breaks added to the overall effect.

Posted by rcorporon (Member # 2879) on :

Just a thought on POV.

I'm not skilled enough to pull it off, so I don't. But some authors are great at switching POV mid-stride (Herbert being one of them) and I say "go for it."

There are no rules in writing, really. Tell me any rule, and I'll show you an example of a published book that breaks it (within reason).

Like OSC says: do what you want, just be ready to deal with the consequences.

Posted by Smaug (Member # 2807) on :

Love thy character as thyself, but don't be afraid to give him lots of trouble or even kill him if necessary.

Posted by Aalanya (Member # 3263) on :

Oh, Inkwell, that was priceless. Bravo.

Posted by Doc Brown (Member # 1118) on :

The POV rule is less a current fad, more a recent trend.

Based on the books I read a few authors have been keeping a tight reign on POV for decades, but some time in the 80s it became the standard. Now readers and editors expect it.

Too bad about commandment X. My collaborator has a great assonace!

[This message has been edited by Doc Brown (edited May 10, 2006).]

Posted by pantros (Member # 3237) on :

The PoV thing:

Would actually qualify as a recent discovery. People realized that the 3rd person limited omniscience pov is more immersive than the previous tradition of 3rd person full omniscience.

As a writer there are probably as many ways to handle PoV as there are writers. You can use Full Omni and shift focus from one character to another any time you wish.

The real important thing about writing, above all other rules, is that you must engage the reader well enough that they do not notice the errors/flaws or at least don't care enough to stop reading when they do.