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Breaking the rules.

There are loads of them, aren't there. Adrian's question about chapters got me thinking about them all. Don't make your chapters too long, don't use a heavy accent for a character for too long, don't use too many adjectives, don't jump POV too often, murder your darlings, blah, blah, blah...

Are there ever excuses for breaking the rules and would you break any for your story?

Asked by: Victoria Whithear

Antoinette Adams on July 30, 2012

I would only really break a rule if I didn't know I was, or if I really had too for one reason or another.
Gilly Ansell on July 30, 2012

I think some rules are made to be broken and that's why some people stand out from the crowd in a positive way - because they dared to do it and succeeded and the rule break worked for them. The other thing is whether the rules are set in stone and who set them - who made it a rule? Sometimes rules and boundaries need to be pushed to set new standards and ways of thinking. That's just my opinion of course :-)
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Adrian Sroka on July 30, 2012

Interesting question, Victoria.

Much would depend on the plot, storyline and genre of the book.

A couple of suggestions below, but they may not be original ideas.

You could have characters acting out of character. You could have characters with split personalities, or other mental disorders. That would allow opportunities to experiment.

You could have a third person narrator, who changes to the first person, and then becomes a rounded character in the story.
Jonathan Hopkins on July 30, 2012

I hate POV jumps in the same paragraph, though a lot of writers seem to think them clever. They stick out like sore thumbs (DON'T use cliches, lol) and I always think they're sheer laziness - it's easier to skip into another character's head to solve a story issue than write your way around it.

But I did the same in the last paragraph of my first story because my two MCs' thoughts needed to be immediately obvious to the reader in an emotional situation. I thought it worked.

Everyone breaks 'rules' sometimes, but sparingly is good :)
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Zaann Jacqueline on July 31, 2012

Yes, to a certain extent. If I am writing. I think, this is my story, I want to tell it the way I want to, in the way which is me and a style i am comfortable with and if others don't like it they dont have to read it. But of course it would have to be readable. =] I am not writing to please, I am writing because I love to write. People can say what is best and preferred, but that is only a personal preference and opinion and I feel so are these rules. Why follow rules and guidelines set by another's preferred style of writing. =]
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