The Rules of Writing (there are two)

I have been teaching some creative writing sessions recently. The writers in the group are great; they have some wonderful ideas. Their WIPs (works-in-progress) are varied, from reality-based domestic dramas to high fantasy. It’s great to see.

The majority of what I’m teaching comes from my book, How To Write a Novel in 6 Months. But of course, I’ve learned some new things about writing since I published the book. I think about writing a lot, because that’s what I do.

One of the things I’ve become more convinced about is that there are no RULES to writing—but there are PRINCIPLES.

However, I have U-turned slightly…

I have come to the conclusion, now, that there are TWO rules. They are axioms, I think; fixed and never-changing. Everyone who sits down to write a novel or story, play or screenplay, must stick to them.

The 2 rules are:

1. Finish it: your book, your play; get to THE END.
2. Don’t bore the reader: make them WANT to turn the page or stay in their seats.

That’s it.  Your starting points when you begin writing: these 2 rules.

Do you agree? Anyone have other rules? Or maybe you don’t think these are important. Let me know. I look forward to hearing from you.

So with Christmas coming, and New Year goals looming, maybe some of you intend to write a novel. If that’s the plan, the above two rules are really the only things you need to be thinking about.

Have lots of festive fun, I hope 2022 is creative and bountiful for you all.

The Prophet Wars continue…

Volume 2’s cover art

Volume 2 of my young adult novel The Prophet Wars will be available as an ebook on October 31. Apt, eh? Halloween.

It’s going to be downloadable in multiple formats. Kindle, epub, PDF, and will be available on Amazon, Smashwords, Draft2Digital, Barnes & Noble, iBooks… I could go on.

You can pre-order your Kindle copy right now. Here if you’re in the UK. Here in the U.S.

Meantime, if you’d be happy to review it, you can download a free advanced reader copy (ARC) in various formats right here at BookFunnel.

After you’ve read it, it would be great if you could leave a review on Amazon (after publication day), Smashwords, Goodreads, YouTube, your blog, the local paper. The first volume ARC is also still available, by the way, just in case you’ve not had a look.

If you don’t want to sign-up at BookFunnel, but you want to review the book, email me at info@thomasemson.com and I’ll mail you a PDF. No bother.

Thank you, as usual, for your support. And if you’ve not already done so, you can sign-up to my newsletter here – and you’ll get a free story and an extract from How To Write A Novel In 6 Months.

Free book today

HTWABI6M_New_Twitter_CoverMy guide book HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN 6 MONTHS  is available for FREE on Amazon for Kindle today and tomorrow, so if you’re in the UK, here’s the link, and it’s here if you’re in the States; here in Canada; here in Australia… and it’s free everywhere else on Amazon, too. If you do download it for free, all I ask is, Would you consider revewing it? It’s great to know what you think. I am not asking for a five-star review, only your honest, fair opinion. Anyway, if you download it, I hope it helps you in your quest to write a novel, or, if you already are a novelist, you may find some of the content interesting.