What’s the first rule of writing your first draft? Don’t edit while you write. Just get it down, no going back and forth.

Well screw that, I’m a rebel and thats just what I’ve been doing today. And it really drove home how the “Rules of Writing” really just a guideline. I mean who actually decided on them?

It is something people seem to get a bit hung up on though. I see it a lot in writing groups, writing guides and anywhere that offers advice to struggling writers. The concept of just get it written and worry about edits later is good advice but remember it’s not set in stone. You can write however you want.

Today is a prime example. Sometimes an idea will come to mind long that will change the flow of the narrative. It will be a good idea, one that takes the story into new territory. But there’s a problem. It contradicts a large portion of what you have already written and you get a large, gaping…

PLOT HOLE

*Cue 1950s horror scream*

So what do you do? Do you just leave it and wait until the first edit? Or do you go ahead and do a rewrite? My advice is to ask yourself a few questions.

• How big of a change is this?
• Are you on deadline?
• Can the story go ahead without an immediate change?
• Will you remember to make the change?
• If you decide to wait, will you really be able to fit it in properly?

This last one is the most important. What you don’t want is to have your manuscript finished and then have an early chapter that feels shoehorned in. Imagine yourself as the reader. Will it seem obvious that it was a late edit? Will it disrupt the flow?

We all read here and I’m sure we all hate when a sudden interruption happens. Personally it’s made me put a book down in the past.

So don’t worry about following “The Rules” to the letter. They are very much like the pirates code. Basically guidelines rather than rules. Do what works best for you and find your own style and way of doing things.