Writing Rx and Overdose (3)

“. . . tips are like aspirin. One may do you good, but if you swallow the whole bottle you will be lucky to survive.”
—Harvey Pennick, Harvey Pennick’s Little Red Book

“Free writing advice is appropriately priced.”


We’ve been cautioning about overdosing on some widely-accepted writing rules (see back pages).

Keeping in mind that all medicines are potential poisons, please take writing advice (including mine) as you would medicine—only as needed.

.................RULE 7 NEVER OPEN A BOOK WITH WEATHER................


This opening line of Edward Bulwer-Lytton 1830 novel Paul Clifford is often used as an example of florid writing. It does tell us something of the setting and sets the mood. The rest of the passage goes on in detail with asides and becomes an overly long example of “purple prose.”




The purpose of the rule is to cut to the chase and immerse the reader immediately in the “human” story:


“Call me Ishmael,” begins Hermann Melville’s main character as he speaks directly to us, setting out with a world of allusions. He, and we, are the outcasts who have been deprived of our birthright and must go into the world to seek our heritage with a lesser blessing.



So there are the best and the worst (according to some). The problem I have with the rule is the word “never.” Can we say, “Never use ‘never’ in a rule”? The opening line below illustrates why we cannot.



“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”
—George Orwell, 1984





.................RULE 8 AVOID FLASHBACKS................

Some say that flashbacks “lose the reader.” They say the reader needs simple linear plots. Such an approach underestimates him. Readers are smart and experienced.

A good flashback gives him vital information that bears on, but does not occur within the present narrative. It is a “hook” to transport him to the “beginning” of the story. (As a writer, you are in the business of transportation.)

The flashback is a valuable tool in competent hands. If you have the skill to use it, then keep it in your kit. If you don’t, learn it. Its use requires skill. (Doesn't all writing?) It either works or doesn’t based on execution.




You may not use this tool often, but keep it in your toolkit.

.................RULE 9 AVOID PROLOGUES................


This is an Rx for an imaginary malady. Don't title it "Prologue." Use a descriptive word of phrase, and then get on with it.

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."




The rationale behind this rule is that anything worth being in the story should be part of the story proper. Guess what? It is.

Everything stated about flashbacks applies to prologues.

A prologue can set the mood, define a character, or let the reader in on something the main character does not know. It can do any number of things to enhance the story. Perhaps best, it limits narration by a vignette that “shows rather than tells.”




























These three rules have to do with story telling rather than the nuts and bolts of grammar and exposition. Just remember that story telling is an art. It is creative, and no one can teach creativity by the numbers.

Pack your tool kit, and refine your skills. Don’t limit your options just because a famous author says a tool is worthless. Write like you, not like him or her.

Don't get me wrong. If they are famous and successful, they have paid their dues. That doesn’t make them the arbiter of style. Listen to what they say carefully because they know a thing or two, but don’t take what they say as gospel. People almost always overstate and simplify rules to drive home a point. Just remember what Harvey Pennick says about dosage.