The Rules of Writing (Fiction)

When I started writing fiction, about three years ago, I thought there were rules, a set of principles to crafting the next best-seller. J.K. Rowling, Christopher Paolini, Stephen King, James Patterson- they knew these rules, and I was determined to learn the same. Three years later, I've learned one thing.

There are no rules.

One quote said something like  "Learning to write is learning the basic guidelines, then deciding when to ignore them." Another, by W. Somerset Maugham, goes "There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, nobody knows what they are." And it's true.

There are no rules.

There may not be rules, but there are definite... suggestions. Every writer has some tip, some nugget of knowledge they're willing to give the starving student. And that's what I will be blogging about: those gems in the muck of modern prose, the true form of fiction. Granted, people will have opinions and they will disagree- I bet even you will at one point or another; please, comment away. The legions of writers out there all have tools and voices, and so I hope this will become not only a help for you, as the reader, but also for me, the blogger. Writers never stop learning. It's that simple.

But you've learned the first and only rule: there are no rules. Circular, yes. Simple, yes. Easy? NOT AT ALL.

So, how's that for my first post? ;)