Top Ten Bits of Writing Advice That you should Ignore – Strand Mag

I agree with this article. I don’t follow these rules. I have read a few books that follow these rules to the letter, and those books were stuttery reads. No smoothness to the sentence, no grace to the flow and no life to the words.

Recommended read: The Last Church by me.

Now, on to the main article:

TOP TEN BITS OF WRITING ADVICE THAT YOU SHOULD IGNORE

Posted on June 29, 2016 byJames Ziskin

Top Ten Bits of Writing Advice That you should Ignore

Lest anyone be offended by my thoughts below, understand that the following are my opinions as they apply to me and my writing. I believe all writers should form their own opinions on writing advice. There is not “one” way to write. Advise yourself. But be sure you consider the advice of others before dismissing—or accepting—it.

In no particular order:

1. Write what you know.

I only know so much. If I followed this axiom, I might eke out one or two books in my lifetime. I write what I’d like to know. That means research. Only if the subject is interesting enough to me, will it stand any chance of being interesting to someone else.

2. Never use an exclamation point.

When one of my characters is shouting, I use an exclamation point. If the character is merely annoyed/excited/insistent, I do not. By the same token, if one of my characters is asking a question, I use a question mark.

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