Ten Rules for Writing Fiction

I can do no better today than to direct you to an article which appeared in the UK newspaper 'The Guardian' a couple of years ago. Called 'Ten Rules for Writing Fiction', it contains many more than ten!

Various authors, ranging from Margaret Atwood to P.D. James were asked for their personal dos and don'ts, and the results make very interesting reading.

Some of my favourites include:

Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue. The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. (Elmore Leonard)

Read it aloud to yourself because that's the only way to be sure the rhythms of the sentences are OK (prose rhythms are too complex and subtle to be thought out – they can be got right only by ear).(Diana Athill)

Hold the reader's attention. (This is likely to work better if you can hold your own.) But you don't know who the reader is, so it's like shooting fish with a slingshot in the dark. What ­fascinates A will bore the pants off B. (Margaret Atwood)

Do be kind to yourself. Fill pages as quickly as possible; double space, or write on every second line. Regard every new page as a small triumph ­– until you get to Page 50. Then calm down, and start worrying about the quality. Do feel anxiety – it's the job. (Roddy Doyle)

Finish the day's writing when you still want to continue. (Helen Dunmore)

Have more than one idea on the go at any one time. If it's a choice between writing a book and doing nothing I will always choose the latter. It's only if I have an idea for two books that I choose one rather than the other. I ­always have to feel that I'm bunking off from something. (Geoff Dyer)

Only bad writers think that their work is really good.(Anne Enright)

Don't read your reviews. (Richard Ford)

Never use the word "then" as a ­conjunction – we have "and" for this purpose. Substituting "then" is the lazy or tone-deaf writer's non-solution to the problem of too many "ands" on the page. (Jonathan Franzen)

Cut out the metaphors and similes. In my first book I promised myself I wouldn't use any and I slipped up ­during a sunset in chapter 11. I still blush when I come across it.(Esther Freud)

Remember: when people tell you something's wrong or doesn't work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.(Neil Gaiman)

Style is the art of getting yourself out of the way, not putting yourself in it.(David Hare)

Don't just plan to write – write. It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we develop our own style. (P.D.James)

Remember you love writing. It wouldn't be worth it if you didn't. If the love fades, do what you need to and get it back. (AL Kennedy)

Read these and dozens more pieces of advice at http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/20/ten-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-one
(and don't forget to click for Part Two!)