WRITER'S BLOCK: BREAK THE RULES

"'I didn't set out to break any rules,' she [Val McDermid] says. 'I set out to tell the story the only way it makes sense to me.  And I don't think most writers think about formula; we're just trying to tell the story.'" The Writer, August 2009, p.23.

While the above quote refers to fiction writing, we know that nonfiction writing has rules as well.  Rules can be guides or they can be a prison.  It depends entirely on how committed you are to the rules.

In my experience as a writing coach I have seen writers and wannabe writers shut down — writer's block — because they feel constrained to follow the writing guidelines/rules they have learned.

Recently Lucy Calkins (e.g., The Art of Teaching Writing) has influenced writing in school aged children with her program of writing that emphasizes the individual children's inherent ability to tell a story.  Rules (guidelines) are suspended.  The only "rule" is for the child to say what they have to say.  There is no correcting of sentence structure, spelling, etc..

What a wonderful message for all writers and wannabe writers… Just say it.  Rules can always be applied later.

Remember, for a writer the only thing that is important to keep your hand moving and write.