Fight Club
Remember the movie (and book) Fight Club? The first rule of Fight Club is you don't talk about the Fight Club.
Well, I think the first rule of writing is there are no rules. Look at The Sound the the Fury. Remember Benjy? My God, but how the heck do you get through his narrative? You do, of course. And the end result is worth it--the novel is challenging and brilliant. But breaks rules as we probably think of them as far as narrative and chronology.
On the other hand, say you want to be published and you're NOT Faulkner. Well, you probably want to follow a few rules. To that end, I am always amazed when I am asked to critique a 200-000-word novel. Happened three years ago. It was, as I recall a mystery about a sailor in the Keys. And the person who asked me to critique it expressed deep SHOCK bordering on an anaphylactic reaction that word count was something he might want to think about if he intended to send it to an agent as a mystery/thriller.
I have had people tell me "that's what editors are for" when their plots fall down halfway through the book or their manuscript is rough to the point of needing a massive copyedit.
So maybe the first lesson of writing--if you want to be published--is do your homework. I am not a joiner, but if you read the NY Times article I linked to yesterday, they gave credit to the RWA for being an organization that does a lot of market research, that helps its writers. Other groups do, too. Writers' groups, blogs, books . . . the information is out there if you want it.
So, if this is Fight Club . . . or Write Club . . . what's the first rule, in your opinion?
Well, I think the first rule of writing is there are no rules. Look at The Sound the the Fury. Remember Benjy? My God, but how the heck do you get through his narrative? You do, of course. And the end result is worth it--the novel is challenging and brilliant. But breaks rules as we probably think of them as far as narrative and chronology.
On the other hand, say you want to be published and you're NOT Faulkner. Well, you probably want to follow a few rules. To that end, I am always amazed when I am asked to critique a 200-000-word novel. Happened three years ago. It was, as I recall a mystery about a sailor in the Keys. And the person who asked me to critique it expressed deep SHOCK bordering on an anaphylactic reaction that word count was something he might want to think about if he intended to send it to an agent as a mystery/thriller.
I have had people tell me "that's what editors are for" when their plots fall down halfway through the book or their manuscript is rough to the point of needing a massive copyedit.
So maybe the first lesson of writing--if you want to be published--is do your homework. I am not a joiner, but if you read the NY Times article I linked to yesterday, they gave credit to the RWA for being an organization that does a lot of market research, that helps its writers. Other groups do, too. Writers' groups, blogs, books . . . the information is out there if you want it.
So, if this is Fight Club . . . or Write Club . . . what's the first rule, in your opinion?
Labels: Faulkner, Fight Club, writing rules
posted by Erica Orloff at 1:34 PM
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