Rules of Writing?

For every rule laid out by writers, there is another writer who makes a good living breaking that rule.

Jack Lynch wrote in Guide to Grammar and Style: “Be careful, though, not to rely too much on italics for emphasis; they make your writing look amateurish.” Or you could just ignore that one altogether, like Stephen King.

Kurt Vonnegut said that semicolons were “transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing,” which I take to mean he didn’t care for them. I have read that some writers differ on this account; they use them to good effect.

I’ve always heard that we should not use the passive voice. I try not to, but when I read that “the stockings were hung by the chimney with care,” I’m not concerned about who is responsible for the hanging. I realize that the passive voice can be excused on some occasions.

Some editors have rejected books for children based on excessive references to “undergarments” or “bodily functions.” Nonetheless, Captain Underpants and Everybody Poops were unleashed by publishers who failed to protect readers’ delicate sensibilities. This is not to say that we should try to write the next Go the F*** to Sleep. Or…?

There is only one immutable rule: Writers write.

If most of the bones are good, an editor will help you set the ones that aren’t.

I saw this quote on Twitter (I guess it’s useful after all). “Allow yourself to write crap; you can’t revise a blank page.” Nora Roberts said that. She’s pretty good, too, I hear.