More Rules of Writing
Dec. 10th, 2007 04:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kerravonsenI did my rules of writing post, but I realize (with some of the rules that others have posted) there were a few more, so here they are.
8. Infodumping is BAD. Only tell the readers what they need to know. And what they need to know is what is required for the plot -- the plot of this story. Oh, foreshadowing is okay, if you're planning on writing a sequel, but that, also, needs to be done as hints, not dumps.
9. "There's no such thing as an original idea, only an original treatment." (told me by one of my fannish gurus, and very helpful). This makes me unafraid to try story ideas that I like, even if other people have done the idea first. Because my version is going to be different to theirs. Just take, for example, when![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
astrogirl2 and I both did the "Bad Cliches Made Good" ficathon, and we both did "The 9th Doctor gets amnesia" and our stories were enjoyably different.
10."Once is chance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action." In other words, consider the probabilities of things that happen. This has a few corrollories.
(a) If you want something to appear commonplace, or you want readers to notice, repeat it three times (this is the Rule of Three)
(b) If something is supposed to be unlikely, then it should only happen once (this is the Rule of One). This also means that if something unlikely has happened in canon, that is not carte blanche to make it happen again in your story.
(c) None of your plots should rely on coincidence too much. If too many coincidences happen, then the reader is going to be looking for the "enemy action"; that is, the cause behind the coincidences. If you don't supply one, this is bad plotting.
(d) In Alternative Universe stories, only one "what-if" is allowed. That is, the basis of an AU story is usually "what if X had happened differently?" or "what if Person A had been born in Universe W?" or some other kind of what-if. You get one what-if for free. All other changes should be a consequence or extrapolation of this change, for several reasons.
1. You run into the "too many coincidences" problem, because you only get one change for free; additional changes are coincidences, and your readers will treat them as such.
2. If you make too many arbitrary (rather than extrapolative) changes, then your readers will wonder why you are making them. The words "undisciplined", "self-indulgent", "wish-fulfilment fantasy" and "why don't you create your own original universe?" spring to mind.
3. It's more fun to thoroughly extrapolate from one what-if. Well, I think so.
8. Infodumping is BAD. Only tell the readers what they need to know. And what they need to know is what is required for the plot -- the plot of this story. Oh, foreshadowing is okay, if you're planning on writing a sequel, but that, also, needs to be done as hints, not dumps.
9. "There's no such thing as an original idea, only an original treatment." (told me by one of my fannish gurus, and very helpful). This makes me unafraid to try story ideas that I like, even if other people have done the idea first. Because my version is going to be different to theirs. Just take, for example, when
astrogirl2 and I both did the "Bad Cliches Made Good" ficathon, and we both did "The 9th Doctor gets amnesia" and our stories were enjoyably different.10."Once is chance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action." In other words, consider the probabilities of things that happen. This has a few corrollories.
(a) If you want something to appear commonplace, or you want readers to notice, repeat it three times (this is the Rule of Three)
(b) If something is supposed to be unlikely, then it should only happen once (this is the Rule of One). This also means that if something unlikely has happened in canon, that is not carte blanche to make it happen again in your story.
(c) None of your plots should rely on coincidence too much. If too many coincidences happen, then the reader is going to be looking for the "enemy action"; that is, the cause behind the coincidences. If you don't supply one, this is bad plotting.
(d) In Alternative Universe stories, only one "what-if" is allowed. That is, the basis of an AU story is usually "what if X had happened differently?" or "what if Person A had been born in Universe W?" or some other kind of what-if. You get one what-if for free. All other changes should be a consequence or extrapolation of this change, for several reasons.
1. You run into the "too many coincidences" problem, because you only get one change for free; additional changes are coincidences, and your readers will treat them as such.
2. If you make too many arbitrary (rather than extrapolative) changes, then your readers will wonder why you are making them. The words "undisciplined", "self-indulgent", "wish-fulfilment fantasy" and "why don't you create your own original universe?" spring to mind.
3. It's more fun to thoroughly extrapolate from one what-if. Well, I think so.
