Yet Another List of Rules for Writers

"17 Writing Secrets"
Steven Goldsberry, on Writer's Digest (February 11, 2008)

"One author shares his tried-and-true principles for making good writing better.

"1. Never save your best for last. Start with your best. Expend yourself immediately, then see what happens. The better you do at the beginning, the better you continue to do.

"2. The opening paragraph, sentence, line, phrase, word, title—the beginning is the most important part of the work. It sets the tone and lets the readers know you're a commanding writer.

"3. The first duty of a writer is to entertain. Readers lose interest with exposition and abstract philosophy...."

This is yet another list of common-sense rules for writers. Suggestions and guidelines, actually.

I appreciated the candor of the author, about halfway through, when he acknowledged that the rules listed to date were, potentially, contradictory. And, the final point:

"17. There are no rules for good writing. Those who break the 'rules' successfully are the true artists. But: learn, practice and master the rules first. 'You cannot transcend what you do not know.'—Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj"

It's too easy to see that great writers 'break the rules' and forget that what makes their works great isn't that rules were broken, but that great language was used.