My 10+ Rule of Writing

[JM_Webb]

It scares me cause i was thinking of having him review my story, but it starts like that.

Run. Hide. Lest ye face his wrath.

 

[TheTrinary]

Write GB only in combination with GL.

So hetero?

Don't try to copy movies. A book can never match the sheer visual impact.

If it doesn't hurt you to kill a character, don't

Show what's important, tell what's necessary, but never ever have them overlap in information

Acknowledging tropes or plot holes doesn't make them more acceptable

1. Not sure I agree. They are definitely different mediums, but to say you can pull nothing is silly. There are great story tellers who only work in that medium.

2. Disagree.

3. Unclear what's being said.

4. Might add this one. That's good.

One must be stoned to write a crazy story, more stoned to write a masterpiece, most stoned to write trash.

There are no hateful MC, just undeveloped ones.

There are no bad genres, just unpolished ones.

Post Nut Clarity can create a perfect idea, not a perfect story.

Get high to write a good story, go even higher you'll wake up in jail

1. I'm not willing to advocate for drug use.
2. Why not? What if my MC is a rapist?
3. Agree actually. That's basically my number 1.
4. dude
5. dude

Hmm, my take on this is to write with an end in mind. You do not need the final end, but at least a goal. Like what do I want to get out of this fight/interaction/arc? Why do I want to introduce these characters? Why do I feel the need to kill xxx off? Not just because it is drama, that is a really dumb reason in my opinion.

Do not be afraid to change/rewrite anything you have written before.

Not really necessary, but it is pretty good if you can develop your own lore/cast before actually starting to write. It would allow you to know which characters you can mold and which you should not invest too much into.

1. Agree. My newly added rule should cover this.

2. Sure.

3. This is personal. Some people are discovery writers.

 

[tridetect]

rule 7 and 10 are the most important on this list. please put them in bold because people need to get it through their thick skulls.

 

[TheTrinary]

"
9. Don't start a story with your main character waking up, because information can be conveyed in an infinite number of ways."

What's wrong with that?

It's more of an inside joke than a hard and fast rule, but generally, it's extremely weak. See rule 10.

That's his personal point of hatred.

I don't think it refers to special scenarios like waking up with a hangover and vague memory of something very significant having happened the previous night, but the point is that "Waking Up" rarely ever tells something about the character and delays any significant development more than necessary.

Exactly this.

rule 7 and 10 are the most important on this list. please put them in bold because people need to get it through their thick skulls.

They're probably the only two that aren't ever situational.

 

[Cipiteca396]

because information can be conveyed in an infinite number of ways.

I'm still not sure what this is supposed to mean, or why it's related to the first part of the 'rule'.

I honestly don't know what you're trying to say, so even if you're right, you need to rewrite that rule.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

So hetero?

GL is Girls Love. Are lesbians hetero?

 

[TheTrinary]

GL is Girls Love. Are lesbians hetero?

He said you must combine it with Bl which is boys. if you combine boys and girls, that's just hetero again.

I'm still not sure what this is supposed to mean, or why it's related to the first part of the 'rule'.

I honestly don't know what you're trying to say, so even if you're right, you need to rewrite that rule.

You can start your story in literally any way. Whatever information you are conveying by them waking up, can be conveyed in literally any other way that is more active and interesting.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

He said you must combine it with Bl which is boys. if you combine boys and girls, that's just hetero again.

I said combine GB = gender bender and GL = girls love.

 

[TheTrinary]

I said combine GB = gender bender and GL = girls love.

oh. I just saw the B and thought of it as boy.

 

[ForestDweller]

3. It should take longer to edit than to write.

I'll stop writing if I obey this rule.

 

[SakeVision]

1. I'm not willing to advocate for drug use.

Weak! Me, myself, always write drugged or drunk, and then edit when sober.
So far bretty gut

 

[Cipiteca396]

He said you must combine it with Bl which is boys. if you combine boys and girls, that's just hetero again.

Hmm. I know the other person said Gender bender, not Boys Love. But even if you combine Boys Love and Girls Love, that doesn't make it Hetero. Or maybe having a meal, eating a medium steak and drinking soda, is soup? Technically it all gets combined in the end.

You can start your story in literally any way. Whatever information you are conveying by them waking up, can be conveyed in literally any other way that is more active and interesting.

I see. That's technically true. You can also write in literally any genre, so there's no reason to write Fantasy or Sci-Fi. Whatever plot or moral you want to share can be conveyed in a genre that's more relatable to people. Wouldn't that be more interesting? /s

Compared to the rest of the rules you listed, this one is out of place. It's completely an opinion. It also contradicts the 1st rule.

A replacement might be something like: Be aware of clichés and tropes, and the difference between the two.

 

[TheTrinary]

Hmm. I know the other person said Gender bender, not Boys Love. But even if you combine Boys Love and Girls Love, that doesn't make it Hetero. Or maybe having a meal, eating a medium steak and drinking soda, is soup? Technically it all gets combined in the end.

I see. That's technically true. You can also write in literally any genre, so there's no reason to write Fantasy or Sci-Fi. Whatever plot or moral you want to share can be conveyed in a genre that's more relatable to people. Wouldn't that be more interesting? /s

Compared to the rest of the rules you listed, this one is out of place. It's completely an opinion. It also contradicts the 1st rule.

A replacement might be something like: Be aware of clichés and tropes, and the difference between the two.

There are reasons to write sci/fantasy that adds to the story. There is no reason to add a character waking up (normally).

 

[Deleted member 45782]

Agree with most of the rules.

Nothing is original anymore is some parts truth, some parts not. More often, it feels like something to clutch on when people defend how their story is different from any of the other stories following the same trope, even though there's hardly anything that make it stands out from the rest. Tropes aren't too bad if it isn't overdone and written in a way that falls flat. It just depends on execution.

Practice makes perfect. You more likely won't be a prodigy author that sky rockets to fame in a few weeks of posting your stories, but it takes practice to make your story much better and much more interesting to read.

A few decades ago, we didn't have laptops or mobile phones. Flip phones eventually were replaced by smartphones. Walkmans replaced by iPods. There's always some new ways to make things better. And practice. Practice makes things better so you can improve and expand on what you already know.

Who knows? Maybe you'll re-innovate to make it better -just like flip phones. Already done, but what new ways can I tinker it to make it better?

*one thing though -try not to info dump on us in the very first chapter.

 

[Snusmumriken]

Waking up is like writing intentionally wrong. Imo

Can you do it? yes.
Can it work? yes but you need to prove to your readers that it was deliberate rather than made from inexperience. I wouldn't bat an eye if a well-respected author, that I've read and enjoyed stories from, would start the book with wake up - because I would expect them to know what they are doing. Similarly, with intentionally changing the order of a sentence - with a new author, I would assume a mistake unless the grammar has been perfect until then.

 

[Cipiteca396]

There are reasons to write sci/fantasy that adds to the story. There is no reason to add a character waking up (normally).

Waking up is like writing intentionally wrong. Imo

Can you do it? yes.
Can it work? yes but you need to prove to your readers that it was deliberate rather than made from inexperience. I wouldn't bat an eye if a well-respected author, that I've read and enjoyed stories from, would start the book with wake up - because I would expect them to know what they are doing. Similarly, with intentionally changing the order of a sentence - with a new author, I would assume a mistake unless the grammar has been perfect until then.

This is so frustrating.

Neither of you are saying why it's bad. You're just stating an opinion. "Don't do it because it's bad. Everybody knows that, so just take my word for it. Only newbs do that, unlike me, The Pro."

It feels like I'm getting trolled.

But whatever, since you guys don't know how to make a point, I'll do it for you.

Google says:
This is why most waking up scenes don't work--they're set up, not the actual story, and readers know it. Waking up is just what has to happen before the story begins, a way to introduce the character and set the scene. In 99% of these scenes, starting a few pages into the chapter provides a much stronger opening.

If them waking up is the closest you can reasonably get to the start of a story, then it's a good thing. Each scene in your story should have conflict. It should be interesting conflict. A character waking up when it's aaaaaaauuuugh too EARLY is not interesting.

Begin inside the character's head as they're waking up. But avoid getting too deep and end up writing a large dream instead of making the character wake up. II. Alarm the character enough to wake them up i.e., a loud noise or an earthquake would be sufficient.

In other words, the problem with Waking Up is that it's filler. It's meaningless words used to build up some steam before you start the real story. If your character just goes through a normal day's routine, ditch it. While that information may help you get to know them, that's just an info dump. It's better to slip necessary information in somewhere during your story instead of beforehand.

The way to do it right, in Google's opinion at least, is to literally wake up IN the story. The inciting incident is knocking down your bedroom door and saying "WAKE UP, TIME TO DIE!" You go from the droll routine of waking to the interesting situation of your character realizing that something is wrong. It gives you a glimpse of their normal self, and their 'stressed' self.

You could also use it as a recurring attack against the reader. If the character is going through their everyday routine, but you the reader realize that something's off, it's a great way to build tension. As such, it's a great tool for a horror, mystery, or psychological story. For example, in the time loop Trope, it's common for the character to wake up in the exact same situation every chapter/loop. Often in a stressful way.

As I mentioned before, it's also a cliché. Meaning even if you do it right, people will just overlook it. They won't be impressed, it'll just get filtered out. Someone who's looking for it, holding some kind of grudge against tropes, will be upset. That bias might even affect their entire opinion of the story. Not like there's anyone who fits that description around.

 

[SakeVision]

Waking up is like writing intentionally wrong. Imo

Can you do it? yes.
Can it work? yes but you need to prove to your readers that it was deliberate rather than made from inexperience. I wouldn't bat an eye if a well-respected author, that I've read and enjoyed stories from, would start the book with wake up - because I would expect them to know what they are doing. Similarly, with intentionally changing the order of a sentence - with a new author, I would assume a mistake unless the grammar has been perfect until then.

lmao, speaking of intentionally writing wrong, I was super tempted to write my novel like English-translated chinese xianxia stories....if you know what I mean...and had to endeavor all my willpower not to give in to the temptation of creating sentence structures that are uncommon or don't exist in English language.

 

[Snusmumriken]

This is so frustrating.

Neither of you are saying why it's bad. You're just stating an opinion. "Don't do it because it's bad. Everybody knows that, so just take my word for it. Only newbs do that, unlike me, The Pro."

It feels like I'm getting trolled.

But whatever, since you guys don't know how to make a point, I'll do it for you.


In other words, the problem with Waking Up is that it's filler. It's meaningless words used to build up some steam before you start the real story. If your character just goes through a normal day's routine, ditch it. While that information may help you get to know them, that's just an info dump. It's better to slip necessary information in somewhere during your story instead of beforehand.

The way to do it right, in Google's opinion at least, is to literally wake up IN the story. The inciting incident is knocking down your bedroom door and saying "WAKE UP, TIME TO DIE!" You go from the droll routine of waking to the interesting situation of your character realizing that something is wrong. It gives you a glimpse of their normal self, and their 'stressed' self.

You could also use it as a recurring attack against the reader. If the character is going through their everyday routine, but you the reader realize that something's off, it's a great way to build tension. As such, it's a great tool for a horror, mystery, or psychological story. For example, in the time loop Trope, it's common for the character to wake up in the exact same situation every chapter/loop. Often in a stressful way.

As I mentioned before, it's also a cliché. Meaning even if you do it right, people will just overlook it. They won't be impressed, it'll just get filtered out. Someone who's looking for it, holding some kind of grudge against tropes, will be upset. That bias might even affect their entire opinion of the story. Not like there's anyone who fits that description around.

You are damn right I was staining my opinion. There is a thing at the end of the first sentence - "Imo" which literally says "in my opinion"

Why am I not allowed to express it on a public forum without having to provide proper documentations and citations included?
Did I tell you to follow my advice?
Did I say that I was "The Pro"?

Relax, and don't bash others for not providing you with sufficient information that you could have googled a long time ago yourself.

 

[Cipiteca396]

You are damn right I was staining my opinion. There is a thing at the end of the first sentence - "Imo" which literally says "in my opinion"

Why am I not allowed to express it on a public forum without having to provide proper documentations and citations included?
Did I tell you to follow my advice?
Did I say that I was "The Pro"?

Relax, and don't bash others for not providing you with sufficient information that you could have googled a long time ago yourself.

lol, I read that as L M A O, just misspelled. It had a very, "This is obviously stupid, and anyone who thinks otherwise is a clown" vibe. It's funny how I or l can change an entire sentence.

You got caught in the crossfire. Sorry.

 

[greyblob]

This is so frustrating.

Neither of you are saying why it's bad. You're just stating an opinion. "Don't do it because it's bad. Everybody knows that, so just take my word for it. Only newbs do that, unlike me, The Pro."

It feels like I'm getting trolled.

But whatever, since you guys don't know how to make a point, I'll do it for you.


In other words, the problem with Waking Up is that it's filler. It's meaningless words used to build up some steam before you start the real story. If your character just goes through a normal day's routine, ditch it. While that information may help you get to know them, that's just an info dump. It's better to slip necessary information in somewhere during your story instead of beforehand.

The way to do it right, in Google's opinion at least, is to literally wake up IN the story. The inciting incident is knocking down your bedroom door and saying "WAKE UP, TIME TO DIE!" You go from the droll routine of waking to the interesting situation of your character realizing that something is wrong. It gives you a glimpse of their normal self, and their 'stressed' self.

You could also use it as a recurring attack against the reader. If the character is going through their everyday routine, but you the reader realize that something's off, it's a great way to build tension. As such, it's a great tool for a horror, mystery, or psychological story. For example, in the time loop Trope, it's common for the character to wake up in the exact same situation every chapter/loop. Often in a stressful way.

As I mentioned before, it's also a cliché. Meaning even if you do it right, people will just overlook it. They won't be impressed, it'll just get filtered out. Someone who's looking for it, holding some kind of grudge against tropes, will be upset. That bias might even affect their entire opinion of the story. Not like there's anyone who fits that description around.

Don't think that's the right explanation, at least that's not what I understood. Waking up is the introduction in almost every isekai/reincarnation story, often followed by being in a forest. It definitely works, but it's beyond overused.