The Fourth Rule for Writing a Modern Novel
Never use an adverb to modify the verb ‘said’ I have less of a problem with this rule, but I still don’t think it’s hard and fast. There is a definitely a degree of truth to it. Do we really need to write ‘Jane said excitedly’ or should Jane’s words carry across the realisation that […]
The Third Rule for Writing a Modern Novel
Never Use a Verb Other than ‘Said’ to Carry Dialogue I hate this rule. I do understand it. When I read books where it seems that the writer must use something different every time a character opens his mouth it can get annoying very quickly. If they think they MUST avoid ‘said’ at all costs […]
Rule Number Two for Writing a Modern Novel
Avoid Prologues This one I haven’t broken yet, although I am considering it with my latest novel. I honestly think it will work better with a prologue. The dictionary defines a prologue as a ‘separate introductory section of literary or musical work’. Basically, it’s a (usually) brief section that establishes the setting of the story. […]
The First Rule for Writing a Modern Novel
Never Open a Book with the Weather One of the first things my publisher said to me before she read my book was, ‘I hope you don’t talk about the weather in the first paragraph!’ I didn’t. Instead, I talked about it in the second paragraph. Yes, that’s the truth. It’s still there, and the […]
Rules for writing?
I recently came across this on someone’s Facebook page: The Rules for Writing a Modern Novel Never open a book with the weather Avoid prologues Never use a verb other than ‘said’ to carry dialogue Never use an adverb to modify the verb ‘said’ Keep your exclamation points under control Never use the words ‘suddenly’ […]