Writing Rules

Developing lessons for a class has been an exciting, puzzling, and enlightening process. It takes rigorous honesty to dredge up the multitude of mistakes from which I learned, self-analysis to track down the core of a useful practice, and a lot of drudgery to slog through all the resources and reference material accumulated in the office to choose the best of the best to recommend. Seldom do I make dogmatic statements, but for this class I'm attempting to draw up a list of what I call, Peggy Hill-fashion, Writers' Rules. Or Georganna's Rules for Writers. Something like that. You get the idea. I fell in love with the connotation of the word "rule" as a straight-edge that guides your markings, not as laws, although I could say that if you follow these rules, you'll have a better chance of succeeding as a writer. Some of the first rules I listed were ideas I've carried on about in this blog: reading and no free lunch. The most successful scribblers often read widely, deeply, and often. They usually advise the practice. Similarly, it's nearly impossible to get published if you aren't willing to invest money in your career in a variety of ways. That's the beginning of my rules, and I don't intend the list to be very long, but I'd be interested to hear your ideas on what's necessary to be a successful writer. [Tectags: writers writing rules]

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