Rules, er, Guidelines of Writing

“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” ― W. Somerset Maugham

I love that quote. I think of it whenever I’m faced with a would-be writer or critic who is waving a copy of Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style around as if they expect several large thugs to appear from nowhere and break people’s legs for violating its principles. E. M. Forster’s Aspects of the Novel and John Gardner’s On Moral Fiction inspire similar reverence (and a similar resp...