THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF WRITING1
1) Thou shalt not employ cliches, hackneyed, trite, banal words and phrases.2
2) Thou shalt avoid excess, and extraneous, superfluous redundancies.3
3) Thou shalt employ one point of view per story.(Short story! Not speaking here of the novel!))4
4) Thou shalt use proper nouns every so often to ID "He," "She," "It" & "Their."5
5) Thou shalt not go on and on and on and on when the desired effect is met.6
6) Thou shalt not dwell in flowery, pretentious, affected "writerese."7
7) Thou shalt read dialogue aloud and LISTEN for authenticity and credibility.8
8) Thou shalt not use more than one adjective and one adverb per noun.9
9) Thou shalt not editorialize.10
10)Thou shalt use the proper vocabulary. The right words.11
Plus:12
11) Thou shalt learn to spell13
12) Thou shalt learn to punctuate14
13) Thou shalt learn usage15
14) Thou shalt learn basic grammar16
15) Thou shalt agree in number and gender17
16) Thou shalt write about what we know18
17) Thou shalt strive for meaning in our stories19
18) Thou shalt be aware of conflict in our protagonist20
19) Thou shalt strive for a theme21
20) Thou shalt strive for clarity
A contest entry
- Tips For Writers by Wendy Elizabeth.
165 points, ended June 12, 14 entries
• next story in this contest, remove from contest
Some have objected to "COMMANDMENTS!" Ok! How about the TEN SUGGESTIONS!?
Comments
1 - 25 of 25
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I agree with all, but number three because there is an exception to that rule. If one is writing a novel, more than one point of view can be given in the story, but the point of view must not shift too quickly, but from scene to scene or, better, chapter to chapter. The Novel-Writing Handbook from Writer's Digest School called this type of point of view switching "The Sigma Factor." For short stories, though, the third commandment sticks.
I liked this list of commandments. It made me think of what I do right in writing, and sometimes what I do wrong.
Write On!
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Genius.
That's all that needs to be said. -
lets go back to commandments! Especially 11- 14.
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I read over your story again, and I got the same feel. I'm sorry, I didn't mean for what I said to be taken so personally, I was simply pointing out that there are always the aspects of ideas, originality, and creativity that make a story what it really is: a unique story. When I told you my opinion, I didn't expect to be berated for it, but I suppose I should explain myself before I say something as "scandalous" as stating how it sounded to me.
1) Thou shalt not employ cliches, hackneyed, trite, banal words and phrases.
Clearly talking about certain phrases and words you use, not the view of the story.
2) Thou shalt avoid excess, and extraneous, superfluous redundancies.
Not repeating yourself is important, I agree, and it's not spelling or grammar, I'll give you that, but is it really one of the most important aspects of writing?
4) Thou shalt use proper nouns every so often to ID "He," "She," "It" & "Their."
Proper nouns fall under grammar, no?
5) Thou shalt not go on and on and on and on when the desired effect is met.
I felt #5 and #2 were rather similar.
8) Thou shalt not use more than one adjective and one adverb per noun.
Once again, adjectives and pronouns are parts of grammar. I believe it's more important to get the stories message across than concentrate on the certain words they use and the laws of grammar they follow.
10)Thou shalt use the proper vocabulary. The right words.
This is talking about using correct words, which isn't grammar, but I still feel that this isn't one of the most important aspects of writing.
I understand that the last section was based purely on mechanical aspects of writing, don't get me wrong.
I might have misunderstood you, however, when I read the title "The Ten Commandments of Writing." If you meant more of the way it's written, not what the actual story is, then all my above statements are rather pointless. My comment wasn't meant to be me saying that this was badly written or wrong or anything like that, I fully agree with everything you stated. I just felt that as the 10 commandments, this could have concentrated more on topics like (stated above) originality, creativity, ideas, voice, among other things.
Sorry about the essay of a reply. I was just rather struck how my comment was taken and thought I should explain.
Yours truly,
Trillian. -
Heh. I like this, but I find that a lot of these things concern spelling and grammar mistakes, which aren't as important as the story's idea itself, in my opinion. It was interesting to read though.
~Trillian~ -
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Someone isn't getting this!
#'s 11, 12 and 13 mention Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar SPECIFICALLY...and that's it! And THAT...is because this is basic stuff. I mean, if you can't spell or punctuate what you write...and you don't have a clue about proper, basic grammar...how can you write? How can you hope to convey anything to a reader?
But the initial TEN COMMANDMENTS/(SUGGESTIONS) are about other elements of craft ENTIRELY! I think YOU...seem to be missing the point here! Check again! PLEASE!
GA
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Thou shalt learn to count
Ten?
I agree with nearly all of these, but 16, I'm not so sure. As I'm mostly a speculative fiction writer, I tend to write about things nobody knows.
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What's wrong with Commandments? I think these are more like rules than suggestion! They all make sense and should be followed! Thanks for entering them!
*With Lovef* ~Wendy Elizabeth~ -
I agree!
I agree with every single one of these (and the others added in the comments). Do I think they apply at all times and to every story? No, but these are the things EVERY author must completely understand and be able to do correctly before he/she goes about breaking them. These are the building blocks of good writing and once one masters them, then they can be broken. Writers have to understand the "rules" in order to know When, Where, and (most importantly) Why to break them.
Thanks for offering the advice/suggestions/commandments
I'm glad to be involved in a community of writers helping writers.
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AMEN!!!! I completely agree with all, 20 of these, especially numbers 7,10,11, most definitely 14, and also 19 and 20. Great work!
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these "commandments" are things that everyone needs to work on no matter how good they are, i know i do.
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I think I have broken the whole lot of them at one time or another! Have to give those danged expert reviewers something to do! It is pretty good, though. I like the list, it is clear, concise and lays the Commandments out nicely. One from me, being English, I would really like: "Thou shall not criticise others for not using American spelling."
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this is really funny! i like it. and it so true. more writers need to work on these things.
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Hmm.. well.. there were a few in there that would make a story simply simple if you followed them all the time, but otherwise good advice. I really don't care for the "Ten Commandments" thing, as those are my most cherished values.. but then.. that would make me sortiv one sided..wouldn't it? lol
Very nicely done, and as always very neat and polished. (Even if it is only 200 words.)
Humorous too.
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23) Thou shalt learn to take critics' critiques.
24) Thou shall not base thy story on gore. -
Thou shalt find something else to write about besides $#X and violence?
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Thou shalt agree in gender and number? Thou shalt not say 'thou' and then turn around and say 'we' and 'our?' Hmmm....
Adding on Viola's:
22) Thou shalt be consistent.
Bravo!
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Very Clever...Mea Culpa
But somehow, although I thought of writing "thou knowest" in "commandment" #16...I thought it sounded alright and kept the proper spirit...but I also foolishly thought I could get away with this...not anticipating the likes of Aesca and Viola would be perusing this with their fine tooth combs! Kudos to them...and a large Mea Culpa to me (Mea!)!
GA
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"8) Thou shalt not use more than one adjective and one adverb per noun."
Hehe...oops.
I love this one: "11) Thou shalt learn to spell" - so many people break that one!
Helpful post, GA. Thanks.
--V
PS. 21) Thou shalt not overuse ellipses? Haha! -
Thou shalt read dialogue aloud and LISTEN for authenticity and credibility.8
If anything else, this is the big one for aspiring writers. I could kiss you! I tell writers this ALL THE TIME, but what I say seems to fall on deaf ears. Sometimes the dialogue in stories is just absolutely preposterous or sounds sickeningly romantic, and if a writer just took a few seconds to read their own work out loud, they would realize how silly it sounds.
Ah well, maybe they'll listen to a younger voice, GA! -
Very good! If only all writers held this code of conduct dear to them! In the interests of honesty, I have to admit that I am guilty of a couple of these, but I try not to make a habit of it. Was this written out of frustration or out of the willingness to pass on experience?
- CC -
Hmmmmm.......
Hear Oh Authors
Thou shalt love thy stories with all thy heart, with all thy mind, with all thy body and with all thy soul.
Thou shalt tolerate the imperfections of other Authors who nevertheless might have clearer and better alternatives than thyself.
There is commandment greater than these. -
yes its possible to do more than one point of view but i've found it hard to read stephen king for exactly this reason
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3) Thou shalt employ one point of view per story.4
Stephen King jumps through many points of view, I've also read other less known writer's that do this.
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AGAIN,
When I refer to POINT OF VIEW (POV) I am talking about the SHORT STORY...not the Novel! This, and I know many of you are not aware of this, is an ESSENTIAL difference between a NOVEL and a SHORT STORY. The NOVEL has MANY points of view...the SHORT STORY has but ONE. ONE point of view...ONE MAJOR character...ONE conflict...ONE THEME!
This is basic. Basic. BASIC! The difference between novel and short story is not SIZE!
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