In the introduction to his book Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction
(New York: G.P.Putnam’s Sons 1999, pp9-10), Kurt Vonnegut presents his
eight rules for writing fiction:
1. Use
the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the
time was wasted.
2. Give
the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every
character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every
sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start
as close to the end as possible.
6. Be
a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful
things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write
to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so
to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give
your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with
suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on,
where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches
eat the last few pages.
Those rules are interesting, especially
the eighth—most of us who write crime or mystery fiction depend upon suspense
to carry our stories forward.
Vonnegut is as tongue-in-cheek about the
application of his rules as he is about most things.
“The greatest
American short story writer of my generation was Flannery
O’Connor,” writes Vonnegut.
“She broke practically every one of my rules but the first. Great writers tend
to do that.”
He also penned a set
of eight rules for “How to Write with Style.” (IEEE Transactions on
Professional Communication, Vol PC-24, No. 2, June 1980.) Interestingly, the
rules appear in an advertisement for the International Paper Company. These
rules refer to all writing, including technical and non-fiction.
1. Find a subject you care about.
2. Do not ramble, though.
3. Keep it simple.
4. Have the guts to cut.
5. Sound like yourself.
6. Say what you mean.
7. Pity the readers.
8. For really detailed advice…I commend your attention to The Elements of Style, by William
Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White (Macmillian, 1979)
Vonnegut ends by
calling E.B. White “one of the most admirable literary stylists this country
has produced so far” and noting “that no one would care how well or how badly
Mr. White expressed himself, if he did not have something perfectly enchanting
to say.”
Do you have a
favorite author who has provided “rules” for writing? And do you tend to follow
them?
Vonnegut had such a unique view of life and writing voice. I wonder at how his writing rules came about. I have a feeling there is a story there. Someone approached him, someone posh and toney like the editor of the New Yorker and asked, but sir, what are your writing rules. At which point Vonnegut knew he had the man firmly hooked and proceeded to reel him in. OK, that's my private fantasy and I'm sure never happened, but I do think ole Kurt enjoyed writing, and breaking, rules!
ReplyDeleteI don't know about my rules for writing. I find myself constantly referring to Stephen King's ON WRITING when I need to refill the well. It's not so much a 'how to' as it is an ode to perseverance. And for me, that's the biggest rule. Keep at it.
I have many "favorite" authors, but they all write differently. No two are alike, but they all have captured my fascination and have touched my heart. It is that last element that I think is the most important. I don't want superfluous words, but when a book is pared down too much, feeling can be lost. The plot must pull the reader in, the MC must engage readers' brains, but authors who can also express feeling, capturing readers' hearts--to me that's genius. I doubt that can be taught. In matters of the heart, there are no rules, which, I think, is what Vonnegut was alluding to when he referred to great writers breaking the rules.
ReplyDeleteRay Bradbury's Zen and the Art of Writing is one of the books about writing that helps me keep ideas flowing. Nancy Pickard has a system for evaluating writing that I find really helpful. Agatha Christie was a member of a group of writers that came up with rules for mysteries. And she breaks them with such élan.
ReplyDeleteI, too, have many favorite authors. I learn their characters, enjoy their plots and settings, and leave their books thinking about bigger issues they've raised.
ReplyDeleteThe following quote is attributed to W. Sommerset Maughm, “There are only three rules in writing. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”
ReplyDelete~ Jim
I love Jim's comment attributed to W. Sommerset Maughm. I've read more than one book on writing, however, I think I've learned more from the writers I enjoy most - too many to list here, but I'm thinking of Jane Langton and Louise Penny especially.
ReplyDeleteI like Elmore Leonard's rule -- "If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it."
ReplyDeleteKait, I can just see Vonnegut thinking madly, giving his "rules" spur-of-the-moment when someone asked him, and never looking back.
ReplyDeleteE.B. I too have favorite writers who follow their own (or no!) rules. I think when you're good enough, you can be a rule unto yourself.
Warren, Ray Bradbury was another great author who established his own way of doing things. And Agatha Christie could, of course, do anything she wanted and manage to have it turn out well.
Margaret, I think most of the greats leave us with things to take away from their work.
Jim, I think W. Sommerset Maugham may be wrong--it's probably fortunate that no one knows what the rules are.
Gloria, you're right, we can all learn from other authors.
Kara, that's a good one.