Authors Unchained: Some Rules Were Made to be Broken

by Dawn M. Turner

As an author, have you ever had "rules" shoved down your throat?

Rules such as:
Don't use dialogue tags, only beats.
Avoid passive verbs.
Don't use "weasel" words.
Avoid adverbs.

You're not alone. Authors are often confronted with the "rules" of writing, many times by those who push them as never/don't restrictions instead of minimize/limit guidelines. Listening to all of those voices can leave you feeling chained. Unnecessarily. As time passes, more chains are added by yet more "rules," given by legalistic, though often well-meaning, people.

There IS a common sense approach to the "rules", and it strips away the chains.

It's time to break free!

Genres: Nonfiction

94 pages, Paperback

First published December 24, 2014

About the author

Dawn loves to write Christian romance, suspense, and women's fiction, as well as fantasy with a Christian worldview. She took first place in the Contemporary Romance category, as well as winning the Grand Prize, in the Writers On the Storm Category Five writing competition. She lives in the high desert of Southern Arizona with her husband of 20 years and a variety of critters, furred and feathered. Besides writing and spending time with friends, she enjoys crochet, photography, scrapbooking, spinning yarn from wool and alpaca, and lots and lots of reading.

Reviews

[Kelli C · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've been a writer for any length of time, you've come across "rules" that other people state must never be broken. Anything taken to an extreme is usually not a good thing. I find myself leery whenever I read, "you must never do x, y, or z." That's why I love this book. The author lays out some of these "rules" and describes why they exist, but also illustrates why it might be a good idea not to be tied down by them. I recommend this book to any writer who wants a fresh look at some of these writing "rules" -- and quite possibly, a better understanding of them.