Rules for Good Writing? How I Relate – Part One

One of my literary influences is Elmore Leonard. If you’re unfamiliar, Leonard is the author of some of the greatest crime fiction novels (among other things) that you have almost certainly heard of because a lot of them have been made into movies. A few examples are Get Shorty, Out of Sight, and the short story “Fire in the Hole”, which is the first appearance of one Raylan Givens, he of Justified fame.

Besides writing fantastic novels, Leonard is also known for his Ten Rules for Good Writing. These rules are often hotly debated in writing circles and contain some of the oft-repeated thou-shalt-nots seen on blogs and social media. Since he’s such a big influence on me, I thought it might be fun to take a look at Leonard’s rules and see how much I adhere to them.

Before we dive in, a disclaimer. In my opinion, you absolutely do not have to follow these rules to be a good writer. There are plenty of wildly successful authors who don’t. Leonard’s rules, like most, often come down to two things: avoiding cliches and producing writing with a certain style and tone. That said, there’s absolutely sound reasoning behind these rules, and it’s good to understand that reasoning before you break one. Still, I believe they should be viewed more as guidelines or starting points than indelible commandments.

So, in this post, I’ll gonna rate the first five rules on a scale of one to five based on how they apply to MY work (I’ll get the other five next week). A one means I never use it, and a five means it’s pretty much THE LAW for me. Again, the rating is not meant to indicate whether or not the rule is universally valuable or if it’s valuable to YOU. It’s just how it relates to my own writing and style, which again, is definitely influenced by Leonard. Got it? Cool.

Never open a book with weather. (5)

This rule, to my mind, is simply about avoiding cliches. It always reminds me of the old Peanuts cartoon where Snoopy is at his typewriter and opening his story with “It was a dark and stormy night.” The idea being, of course, that Snoopy is, uh, not exactly a great writer. Yes, I know that’s not where the phrase originated, but I’d guess more people are familiar with Peanuts than Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s 1830 novel Paul Clifford. There’s nothing technically wrong with opening with weather, of course, but it’s one of those things that’s become associated, fairly or unfairly, with cliched writing. I may have opened a story with weather at some point, but it is something I do try to avoid. But, hey, if you can pull it off, and some writers have, go forth and conquer. 🙂

Avoid prologues. (3)

There’s a lot of debate on whether you should use prologues or not, and I take a pretty neutral stance on them. When they work, they work, and there are novels with prologues that are among the most memorable parts of the book. For example, Jurassic Park and Game of Thrones both feature prologues that do an excellent job of defining the threat and stakes of the novel without intruding too much on the story itself or feeling extraneous. They set a tone, whet the appetite, and they just work. I’ve used prologues in a few of my novels, and I’ve written and deleted some, too. Generally, when I’ve deleted them, it’s because they create an unnecessary distance between prologue and the actual beginning of the story. When I’ve kept them, it’s been more of that Jurassic Park, Game of Thrones scenario, where the prologue set’s a tone or relays important information that a) I want the reader to have right away and b) can’t come from the protagonist(s). Note, I am in no way comparing myself favorably to the great Michael Crichton or George R.R. Martin.

Never use a verb other than “said” to carry dialogue. (4)

While I don’t agree that this rule is useful to every author, it works for me and my style. I use said probably 80% of the time when I use a dialogue tag, but I do use other tags, too. You’ll find asked, replied, responded, and even the occasional shouted, yelled, or muttered in my work. This is one of those rules that really comes down to HOW you write. For example, the excellent fantasy author Joe Abercrombie’s dialogue is full of snarls, screeches, hisses, and you name it, and it is, hands down, some of the best dialogue I’ve ever read. So, if you’re going for a more stripped down, get-to-the-point style, then maybe stick to said. If not, snarl, screech, and mutter away.

Never use an adverb to modify the verb “said”. (4)

Stephen King, another big influence on my work, is also very much against the use of adverbs to modify a dialogue tag. He’s kind of against adverbs in general, to be honest. I think this is a pretty good rule, primarily because, as King says (and I’m paraphrasing some here), a lot of writers use adverbs when they don’t trust the verb they’ve chosen to get their point across, or, in this case, the dialogue they’ve written. I think that’s often true, and I find in my own writing, when I use an adverb, especially of the -ly variety, I’m being a bit timid with my prose. So, I do try to edit out adverbs where I can, as they’re often an indication that I need a stronger verb or that my dialogue isn’t hitting right. Still, I’m not an absolutist, and there are time where I will modify a dialogue tag with an adverb. I tend to do it for extra emphasis, not because I think the reader won’t get what I’m laying down, but because I kind of want to beat them over the head with it. Obviously, bludgeoning your reader with an adverb is something you want to do sparingly, but, hey, every toolbox needs a hammer, right?

Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose. (2)

Look, you can definitely overuse exclamation points, but one every 100,000 words feels a little extreme to me. Don’t get me wrong; it absolutely works for Elmore Leonard, and I do believe the man had no use for them. I use ’em, though, and though I try to not to go crazy, I think an exclamation point in a tense, shouted/screamed bit of dialogue adds a little something. Now, I’ll admit, I do search for exclamation points when I’m editing, and I do nuke a fair few. So, even if you’re like me and a fan of the BANG!, it’s not a terrible idea to go through and make sure you’re not being a TOO dramatic.

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As you can see, I’m not an absolutist when it comes to Leonard’s rules, even though I do see a lot of value in them. Again, it’s important to remember that a lot of writing rules are about producing a certain type of work, and in that regard they’re useful. If you’re NOT trying to write lean, fast-paced crime novels, though, and you’re writing say epic fantasy, then these rules may not be as useful to you. In other words, understand why the rules exist, what they’re trying to teach you, and then make the informed decision whether or not to follow or flaunt them.