Break All The Rules...After Learning Them First

The man who was nearly drowned in the river knows the places where it is most dangerous.

I am able to break the rules after I know them. Why? Because, by the time I know the rules, I will know what works for me and what doesn't. There are many writers out there who think they do not need rules on how to write. The premise might be right but the attitude is misguided. Like everything under the sun, all things come with a set of laws. Whether we like it or not, there are certain requirements, responsibilities and rationales that come with every art. However, as every one is different, it is also imperative for each person to express themselves distinctively within and outside the box of rules.

Know what writing is. Writing comes in different genres, perspectives and degrees of veracity. The three main genres are prose, poetry and drama. There are writers who merge those genres into new forms. Examples are prose poems, poetic prose and dramatic poetry. Shakespeare was an excellent example of a genre-merging writer. In most of his plays, the nobles spoke in poetry and the commoners spoke in prose. Under prose, there are so many sub-genres such as the essay, the journal, the reportage et cetera. Both poetry and drama also have their own interesting sub-genres. When it comes to perspectives, we have the first, second and third person narrative. While drama tends to use all three, poetry and prose tends to use the first and third person a lot. In terms of veracity, we have fiction, faction (a blend of fiction and fact) and fact. Every writer worth his/her salt operates from a basic understanding of what writing is and is not.

Know what you want to convey - content. What we write (content) comes with three main dynamics (pretext, text and context). We must create a reason why we write what we write (pretext) and populate that reason with enough description, dialogue and anecdotes (text) to reach a clarity that resonates with the reader (context). Writer's block usually occurs when the writer forgets to establish these three dynamics of content. Content without context is a train going nowhere fast. Readers catch that quickly as everything goes in a merry go round and barely resolves itself. Writers (poets, novelists, playwrights et cetera) are required to be, at least, conversant with their content. This aids in the fine balance of the dynamics that assist a writer to complete a good piece of writing.

Know how you want to convey – style. Content is usually the first hurdle but style is the slippery area where writers can slip and become trite. Style is the identity of a writer. It is his/her spin on content. Writers choose to write in first, second or third person narratives. It is important to establish style at the very beginning and stay consistent to it. Unless the work is experimental, it is better to stay on the chosen track. Some writers choose to tell their stories, poems and plays from the insider-looking out or outsider-looking. Some take it a bit further by being the omnipotent one who sees the insiders and outsiders looking at each other. How ever you choose to write, you must use your method to maximum effect. This enables the reader to get into the rhythms and nuances of your work.

Know who you are conveying your work to - reader. Good writers write for the pleasure of their readers. Great writers know how to engage their readers. The concept of a reading starts with the writer him/herself. Hence, the need for editing and proofreading. Bottom line, the piece must resonate. It must stir. It must push people out of their comfort zones or into the zone of their wildest dreams. Nobel prize winner Toni Morrison advised that 'if there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.' We do not write to satisfy the expectations of others. We write to calm our internal turbulence. Writing is catharsis. It is supposed to be the embodiment of your unique take on life in the facets that are of most relevance to you. However, we must write in a way that whenever a set of new eyes set upon our writing (forgive the pun), a response will be elicited. The jury is out on who the writer must satisfy: himself or the readers outside. The key to being successful in being in sync with the reader is clarity.

Know why you write – pleasure, money, and/or catharsis. Anaïs Nin remarked that 'Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.' It is important to know our motivations for writing. This helps enormously during times of rejection letters and dry spells. Some writers write because it gives them joy to see a completed work. Some write to get paid. Other writes as a way of channelling emotions. All three reasons are not wrong. One must have a basis for an activity. People walk away from writing because they did not determine what motivated to write. Ambivalence is an enemy to writing because it spawns procrastination. Whatever the reason is for your writing, let it sink into your conscious and sub-conscious mind. That reason will drive you to complete a novel, a poem or play. That reason will drive you to produce more. That reason will give you meaning on days when you question why you put up with the tests and trials of writing.

Read as much as you write. Stephen King stated that even though, he is a slow reader, he usually gets 'through seventy to eighty books a year, most fiction. I don't read in order to study the craft; I read because I like to read.' Good writers read a lot. There is no way around that. One part of self-editing is to see how other writers convey their content effortlessly. This is important because there is always a better way of putting one's piece across. Reading assists the writer in defragmenting his own process as it stands in the mirror of another writer's work. We read not to compare and contrast. We read to comprehend and capture nuance. Great writers are perpetual students of excellent writing.

Write much more than you read. This might seem counter to the previous point. However, the objective is to become a prolific writer and an avid reader. When one is able to write a lot, it becomes easier to edit. The music industry uses this method to resounding success. In preparation for an album of 8 - 14 songs, most artists record about 40 - 50 songs. This enables them to pick the very best songs out of everything they recorded for the album project. The bonus effect is the situation where they have songs in place, in the event of their inability to record a second album. Compare this to the situation where the artistes records only eight songs and the studio tends to dislike five of those songs. The artiste would be in big trouble. Writing should be copious. I recommend that strongly. It will surprise you how random thoughts can become the stuff of new writing projects. Do not underestimate the power of surplus.

Develop your style carefully and learn how to be confident with it. Susan Sontag wrote that 'writing is a little door. Some fantasies, like big pieces of furniture, won’t come through.' Whatever blocks your writing should be analyzed for relevance. We cannot fall so much in love with our works that we refuse to prune them of excessiveness or a dearth of clarity. We must step out of the way of the creative process which, in many cases, can be brutal to content, style and structure. Since, the writing experience is an eternal pursuit of excellence, we must be prepared to allow the trimming of our works. In the event that you grow confident in your style, watch out for any hints of laziness. Your readers will not forgive you if you take them for granted.

Remember you do not owe anyone any explanation for what and why you write. Sigmund Freud opined that 'might we not say that every child at play behaves like a creative writer, in that he creates a world of his own, or, rather, rearranges the things of his world in a new way which pleases him? It would be wrong to think he does not take that world seriously; on the contrary, he takes his play very seriously and he expends large amounts of emotion on it. The opposite of play is not what is serious but what is real.' After all said and done, you are the writer. You determine how your story, poem or play ends. You have that divine-like power to create worlds, characters, situations and conflicts. Through your writings, you welcome others into the universe of your mind. Like all strangers, readers have a limit to the changes they can suggest to your world. You might solicit advice, which is fine, but you are not required to change to suit someone's opinions. Your motivations for writing, your style and content and your nuances as a writer are yours and yours only. That is your brand in the marketplace of writers. Some may like it; others may not. In the democracy of writing, all are free to associate with whoever they like. Bear that in mind on this path of writing.

Break all the rules after learning them first. Know your art. Practice your craft. Involve yourself in the business of writing. Study the science of writing. Open yourself to knowledge that enhances your work as a writer. A closed mind cannot receive visitors from the world of wisdom. 

To the poet, I say, Poetry is the language of life in all its idiosyncrasies and idiocies, in all its glory and goriness. Poetry is the power in few words to summarize existence or to shed light on a hidden beauty caught in triteness. Poetry is also about everything that concerns man. It is about everything he discerns. It is about things that confound and compound our minds with mystery. Hence, poetry is about the known and unknown. It is about everything. Therefore, we have no excuse, whatsoever, not to write. 

To the playwright, I say, plays are visions of existence. They employ the other genres to maximum effect. Through plays, we see human character in 3-D: the character as s/he sees her/himself, the character as other see her/him and the character in the nuance of existence. Societies are provoked to assess themselves through plays. People are forced to question their own personalities after they see plays that resonate with them. The purpose of a play is to deploy a thought of stark truth to the audience, to make them laugh at their foibles and cringe at their own wickedness. A play has the power of presence.

To the novelist, I say, stories are the mirrors of life. We see our realities and dreams reflect back to us through fact and fiction. A story cannot be irrelevant. It applies to all. The fact that no one is insulated from the power of stories makes the novelist a very important part of society. This demands a meticulous view of the world of reality and fantasy. It is a sacrosanct duty that must be undertaken with the clearest of intentions. Chinua Achebe once stated that 'to me, being an intellectual doesn't mean knowing about intellectual issues; it means taking pleasure in them.' One of the greatest gifts to any civilization is the excellent writer. Such a writer is usually unique and focused on paint a picture of the world, one work at a time.

You have to be original, not obnoxious