Heinlein's Rules For Writing
Hi all,
I'm sharing some advice given by Dean Wesley Smith in which he said aspiring writers should follow Heinlein's rules for writing.
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Dean wrote:
Those of you thinking about making a living at this business, you must know and follow these rules. Heinlein wrote them into an article back in the '40s, and they still apply 100% today. If you think you are an exception,
you are fooling yourself.
Heinlein's Rules
Rule #1: You must write.
Rule #2: You must finish what you write.
Rule #3: You must never rewrite (unless to editorial demand, and then only if you agree)
Rule #4: You must mail what you finish.
Rule #5: You must keep the story in the mail until someone buys it.
That's it. So simple, so hard to do. The killer are all five rules.
#1 kills those who think they want to be a writer but just can never find the time.
#2 kills those writers who are so afraid of having anything finished.
#3 kills everyone because of the huge myth that rewriting is critical. (Myth fostered by universities and people who can't write a saleable word).
#4 kills every writer with any kind of fear.
#5 kills every writer who thinks that someone else's opinion is more important than their own.
Such simple rules, so very, very hard to follow.
Good luck!
Cheers,
Dean
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A link to Heinlein's Rules is at http://www.gazetteofthearts.com/writer3.htm
Rule 3
The only rule I question is rule 3 - You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order. I don't question it's intent, I question what is rewriting and what is writing the story in the first place. I certainly can't write a publishable story in one pass, I have yet to write a publishable story in multiple passes ;-(
But the intent is good, write it and ship it, don't work on it for months or years.
re: Rewriting
The approach of Dean Wesley Smith and Kristyn Kathyrn Rusch is that the majority of amateur/low-level pros will rewrite the heart out of their story, ending up with a later draft that's much weaker than the first draft.
Their view comes from having been editors and seeing all too many people they considered not turn in stronger drafts when requested.
That was due in part to many giving their stories over to writing groups who gave comments that served more to suit that particular group's tastes rather than elevated the story.
It's easy to be CRITICAL of a story no matter how well done. IMHO, the thing to work for when critiquing is to ELEVATE the story you're commenting on, which is another subject.
Kris and Dean's conclusion was that beginners and low level pros should just avoid rewriting completely--till their skill developed further down the road.
I learned a lot from Dean and Kris, but didn't agree with them on rewriting.
I believe rewriting is a skill that has to be learned, which leads me to post something on this in the Tips and Techniques section.
Boris
"Fiction is a lie. Good fiction is the truth in a lie."
-Stephen King
"Compelling characters and writing transcend category."
-Boris Layupan
http://www.borislayupan.com
http://writerboris.blogspot.com/
"You must kill your darlings."
-William Faulkner
http://www.borislayupan.com
http://writerboris.blogspot.com/
Ciao!
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