Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Breaking Rules: The Insecure Way


One of my biggest writing insecurities is breaking rules. When I started my novels, I went at it all willy-nilly, unaware of rules aside from basic grammar. When I got more serious about the craft, one of the first rules I learned was Show, Don’t Tell. What an awesome new concept! And wow, what it did for my writing!

Eventually I learned that once I knew the rules—why they were there and how they worked—I was allowed to break the rules, with discretion. Okay, I have to admit that scared me a bit. (No need to go into a deep psychological profile here, but even though I don’t particularly like rules, I do find comfort in their safety. If I don’t break rules, bad things won’t smack me upside the head, right?) So, the question is, How do I to know when it’s okay to break a rule?

I don’t know.

But it began to occur to me that there had to be a better way to SHOW fear, or embarrassment, or lust, or anger or that whole gamut of human emotions. I mean, how many different ways can the heart beat fast and hard and the body temperature rise? Is it just a matter of seeing how many clever and convoluted ways I can show an emotion through physicality? And that doesn’t even cover all the extra verbiage needed with showing. Sometimes it’s good to slow down the narrative, but sometimes all that extra speeding pulse, slamming objects and watering eyes bogs down the pace and makes even my eyes roll.

Recently, I came across a new term: Interiority. I don’t know who came up with it, but it's in the dictionary (of or pertaining to that which is within) and I found it on kidlit.com and it gave me a whole new slant on the Show vs Tell rule. I haven’t figured it all out yet, but the concept makes good sense to me. I’m feeling a little less insecure.


This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Group, sponsored by Alex J. Cavanaugh.

23 comments:

  1. Hmm...timely topic, eh? Aside from interiority though, I think a lot of the rules, when followed too closely, stifle voice and make for stale writing. It's something I've realized in the last year or so.

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  2. Susan, I have to agree about rules capacity to squash voice. I guess this is where we as writers need to decide what risks we're willing to take.

    Some things that I used to consider 'voice' I now see as sloppy writing, but I have to admit, some of my edits/revisions stripped it of flavor. I've gone back and added seasoning and like it much better.

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  3. I read that article on interiority this morning as a matter of fact. I like that now I have something to call it besides "getting in a character's head."

    I also changed the interiority scene and threw in some dialogue, then filtered a little more interiotity at the end. Seems to have a much better flow. So thanks for that. See, you can teach an old dog new tricks. And break the rules at the same time.

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  4. You have to go with your gut when breaking rules. If you really know the rule, and understand why you are breaking it, it's probably okay.

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  5. Anne, I wish I had read that post a long time ago. It's still a challenge to know just how much and where. Can't wait to read what you've got! :)

    Rick, I guess that's part of the learning curve! Don't know that I'll ever feel 100% about breaking rules, but that's the risk we take as writers, eh?

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  6. I like rules most of the time, but if broken well, and I mean WELL, the writing can be effective. I'm thinking mainly of poetry. I've seen a lot of really bad free verse, and I think some of the poets write free verse just to break the rules of form.

    When I write a highly structured poem, like a sonnet, I find that the form I have to stick to sometimes creates more than I had intended.

    Good post - thanks!

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  7. I agree with Man O'Clay, the rules can be broken, but it has to be so WELL as to almost not be noticed. I've seen attempts at breaking rules, and the first thing that comes to mind is that the writing looks amateurish. But subtly done well, that's genius.

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  8. Joanne, I think that sums up my biggest fear--looking amateurish!

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  9. I know what you mean about breaking the rules. Scary. But sometimes necessary or we would never finish our ms.
    Nancy

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  10. Nancy, Ha! isn't that the truth! I've had three manuscripts full of broken rules...and cleaning them up is half the fun--at least for me!
    Thanks for stopping by :)

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  11. Hi Bridget! Thanks for the link! As for rules...smules. No, not really. The key is knowing the rules, so you can break them when it seems best. The issue is when writers are unaware of the rules to begin with. You can always tell!

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  12. Liza, one thing I've learned is that each sentence in each paragraph in each scene of each chapter really does need to be analyzed--does it serve a real purpose? Does it work? Having an astute crit partner is ever so important in helping us see when breaking the rule works and when it doesn't! ;) ...and then the decision still rests on our own shoulders...

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  13. Yep, showing ALL the time can be draining ;)
    Personally, I love to break the rules.

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  14. Lynda, maybe I just need to come up with more creative ways to show emotions! No one ever said writing wouldn't suck the life out of me, lol! ;)

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  15. Showing not telling is one of those things you don't think about when you're a reader. You just know when something is clunky and doesn't hold your interest. But when you start writing....boy oh boy.

    I wonder if some writers just get this naturally without being hit over the head with it by their first creative writing teacher.

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  16. I like learning new things too; and it makes me feel less insecure about my writing when I figure out how to use that new knowledge effectively.

    I know what you mean about only so many ways to "show" emotions through body expressions. One of my pet peeves when I'm critiquing - my stuff as well as others.

    .........dhole

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  17. Andrew, ...okay, I still haven't figured out the "spoon"...I'll have to think on that some more...

    Yvonne,I'm always amazed at how clever and imaginative some writers are with showing--maybe they're the ones who got it all along!

    Donna, Information really is empowering, especially when we get the sense of it and can figure out how to apply it! I'm still in that learning curve.

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  18. "rules", let me look up in Old Codger Dictionary,,humm here it is:

    Rules= suggestion

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  19. ,,,I knew you were going to say that, Glenn ;)

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  20. I think you already know how I feel about rules. Just see my blog header if you have forgotten. :) But I also think that we have to learn the rules first so we can figure out what works for us individually. I follow a lot of my own rules, but it has taken years to build them up, and I still shift them around all the time.

    It sounds to me like you just need to find a good spot and rules for how you describe emotions. You know, a lot of the time I just say what the character feels. If I showed everything, my novels would be 200,000 words and dull as dirt. But that's me. Some writers pull it off beautifully.

    You're doing something write, I know that. :)

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  21. Michelle, I actually think about your blog header quite a lot when the issue of ruled comes up!

    One of the things that really drives me nuts is reading some of the classics, or literature written my accomplished and respected authors that break so many of the standard 'rules'--if I were going to crit the writing based on said rules, there'd be redline throughout! But it works for them, and I don't feel it detracts from their story, it's just that I've become so aware of showing vs telling, passive voice, adverbs, past participle phrases...and the list goes on.

    Sadly, (that is to say, I frown with a heavy heart) learning the rules can ruin my reading experience if I let it.

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