The Five Rules of Writing

The esteemed novelist, playwright, and short story author, W. Somerset Maugham, famously wrote, “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”

Well, I respectfully disagree, except there’s five…not three.

When I teach creative writing, whether I’m focusing on short or novel-length fiction, I always start with what I’ve come to call The Five Rules of Writing. A couple of these are borrowed from Robert Heinlein’s writing rules but are modified to better fit the modern publishing arena. Writers then and writers now face different challenges.

And with that pesky preamble and disclaimer out of the way, here they are.

Rule 1: Write
Simple, huh? Try it. Sit down and write something, something creative. Go ahead. Do it now.

Rule 2: Finish What You Write
This is the one where most writers stumble. How many out there have unfinished novels hidden somewhere on your computer? And be honest: Did you really start to write something after Rule 1, only to give up?

Rule 3: Edit What You Write
80% of what I do as a writer consists of editing my own work. In general, no piece of fiction penned by Yours Truly goes out before the sixth (and sometimes seventh) revision. When you put your work in front of an editor, you have one brief window of time in which to make a good impression. So, polish, polish, polish!

Rule 4: Submit What You Write for Publication
It’s scary, I know. Consider Emily Dickinson, who published just seven poems in her lifetime. Then, upon her death, a thousand more were found throughout the house. If you’re okay with being Emily Dickinson, then fine, keep your work to yourself. But if you’re anything like me and eagerly (sometimes desperately) wish to be read, then you must submit your polished work to every market that fits!

Rule 5: Go Write Something Else
The wheel never stops turning, my friends. Being a professional (or even semi-professional) writer means creating a body of work and then putting that body of work to work. I am always either writing or editing something. I always have a project.

Our avocation isn’t an easy one. It makes demands on us, on our time, our imagination, our commitment, and our self-esteem. Out of any group of novice writers, the ones who succeed are not the ones with the most talent; they’re the ones with the most drive. Never, ever, ever, ever give up.

Now, as I’ve said many times before, go write something.

​- Ty Drago