I wrote my first romance novel on a whim, in blissful ignorance of all the writing rules you learn at conference workshops and from how-to-write-romance books. After that story garnered a publishing contract, I figured learning and applying the rules would make me an even better writer.
It didn't. Writing by other people's rules just wasn't me. It wasn't fun. So I rebelled. And one of my first acts after my self-liberation was to configure my computer's screensaver to shoot me a reminder every time my fingers hesitated on the keyboard:
No rules. Just write.
It's a philosophy that has worked great for me. Your mileage may vary.
As for that photo of the M&Ms on the keyboard, one day I spilled a bag of candy as I tried to open it. I chuckled and reached for my camera. A few months later, I decided the photo would make a good visual joke as a background for the "No rules" title.
4 comments:
Yay! I am rebeling with you! Er, um, well atleast I'm trying too. LOL I have No Rules. Just Write. On a post it on my monitor. ;-)
um, that would be rebelling. sigh
Yeah, I hear you. I went to graduate school to learn to write, and it set me back about ten years. :-)
I think it's a good rule to have!
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