The Rules of Writing
Which Nobody Can Agree on
This is a comprehensive list, except for when I decide to change it (which I will have already done a few times by the time you read it):
Start small. Always smaller than you think. It can’t be a book if it hasn’t first tried to be an article, a paragraph, even just a sentence. Say it as succinctly as possible, and if two hundred pages is the most condensed version, so be it. Use as few words as possible, but make sure you use enough. Brevity matters, but not at the cost of clarity.
Never let the passive voice be used, except only sometimes, and that is when it sounds better than the other way around. All rules are meant to be broken, except for this one.
What matters is how the words sound, not—strictly speaking—what they mean. Meaning evolves based on usage and how much we humans like using it. If it sounds good, we will eventually make it mean something (see, for example, the 1700 words invented by Shakespeare).
The product is not the piece; it’s the reader feeling something. Connection is the only currency that matters. So, start with what moves you, then pray it moves someone else. Keep going until you find resonance.
A work is never finished, only abandoned. Editing is the process of working with a piece of writing, helping it become more of what it wants to be. First, make it work; then, make it true; finally, make it pretty. Tweak it until you get sick of what you’ve written, then be brave enough to still share it.
Never underestimate the power of a good surprise. We don’t want to be told what we are going to be told. We want to be invited into a mystery.
First lines matter, they are necessary; but the last line is what people remember.
Writing is thinking on paper. A paragraph is a complete thought. A sentence is, too. Fragments or phrases, as well. When you feel like you’ve made your point, add the period, the semicolon, or the line break. Play with the way words come together, see the impressions they make. Use these tools to create something interesting. There is no such thing as a perfect thought, only a clear one. So it goes with writing. There’s no perfect way to do this—just keep playing.
Pick a fight. With an argument, a form, a convention. If it’s not worth disagreeing with, it’s not worth reading. Write to persuade, to convince, or to elaborate. Expression is the lowliest form of writing, but sometimes the only one we have. There should always be a point, and it should rarely be shared with the reader.
There are no rules of writing. Every rule is a suggestion, a recommendation from a server at a restaurant. It would be unwise to discount the advice, but always consider the source. Remember that taste is about learning to trust yourself. Not everyone will agree with you, but that’s why you wrote it.
Your turn: What did I miss? Leave a comment below with either a rule you would add or one you disagree with.
P.S. Don’t forget about tomorrow’s price increase for my upcoming seminar, The Fundamentals of Short Form. This is a live virtual event limited to fifty people in which I will spend two hours going through how to write a powerful 750-word essay. You’ll have the chance to ask questions, share some of your work, and get feedback. If you have any questions, feel free to email me. You can sign up before the end of the day tomorrow to get the best deal. Learn more here.
Write naked. (Okay, maybe not literally.) Good writing is brave and bare.
Trying not to sound like a sycophant but I really like everything you write. It’s thoughtful and thought provoking. Thank you.