James Scott Bell’s 10 Commandments for Writers

This content has been archived. It may no longer be accurate or relevant.

From Anne R. Allen’s Blog… with Ruth Harris:

When I started to teach writing in the late 90s, I channeled my inner Charlton Heston and announced 10 Commandments for Writers. A cheeky thing to do, I admit. But when I reviewed them recently, I found I wouldn’t change one of them. So here they are, with attached comment.

1) Thou Shalt write a certain number of words every week

This is the first, and greatest, commandment. If you write to a quota and  hold yourself to it, sooner than you think you’ll have a full length novel.

COMMENT: I used to advocate a daily quota, but I changed it to weekly because inevitably you miss days, or life intrudes, and you can run yourself down. So set a weekly quota, divide it by days, and if you miss one day make it up on the others. How many words? Figure out what you can comfortably do in a day, then up that by 10%. And take one day off a week to recharge your batteries.

2) Thou Shalt write passionate first drafts

Don’t edit yourself heavily during your first drafts. The writing of it is partly an act of discovering your story, even if you outline. Your plot and characters may want to make twists and turns you didn’t plan. Let them go! I edit my previous day’s work and then move on. At 20k words I “step back” to see if I have a solid foundation, shore it up if I don’t, then move on to the end.

COMMENT: If you outline, tweak it as you move forward in discovery. If you “pants” do a “rolling outline.” Record a summary of your scenes after you write them, and jot ideas for the next couple of scenes.

3) Thou Shalt make trouble for thy Lead

The engine of a good story is fueled by the threat to the Lead character. Keep turning up the heat. Make things harder. Simple three act structure: Get your Lead up a tree, throw things at him, get him down.

COMMENT: Think in terms of “death” stakes. There are three kinds of death: physical, professional/vocational, and psychological/spiritual. If you don’t have death on the line in one of these forms, your plot is not as gripping as it could be.

Link to the rest at Anne R. Allen’s Blog… with Ruth Harris