From the SRP Editor:
Every few months—usually after a conference, a craft book binge, or a particularly loud podcast episode—a writer will show up in my inbox in a mild panic.
“I’ve been told you must never open with weather.”
“Someone said adverbs are always wrong.”
“I heard you can’t switch POV.”
“Apparently prologues are illegal now?”
Let me save you some time and cortisol: Anyone who gives you absolute, black-and-white rules about writing is either oversimplifying… or selling something.
Often both.
Writing Has Principles. Not Laws.
There’s a reason these “rules” sound so confident. They usually started life as useful cautions, meant to stop beginners from falling into common traps. But somewhere along the line, nuance died, and we were left with commandments carved into stone tablets.
“Never use adverbs” was once “Don’t use adverbs as a crutch instead of choosing a stronger verb.”
“Never open with weather” was once “Don’t start with irrelevant scene-setting that delays character and conflict.”
“Show, don’t tell” was once “Don’t only tell when dramatizing the moment would be more effective.”
See the difference?
One is guidance. The other is dogma.
The Hidden Question Every Rule Ignores
Here’s the question every real editor asks before changing a word:
Is this working for this story, this audience, this moment?
Rules never ask that. Rules assume a one-size-fits-all reader, genre, pacing, and intention.
Editors don’t work that way. Professional writers don’t work that way. Successful books certainly don’t work that way.
Why New Writers Are Especially Vulnerable to “Rules”
Rules feel safe. They give you something solid to hold onto when you’re unsure of your instincts. They promise certainty in a craft that is, frankly, messy.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth: If you follow every writing “rule” perfectly, you won’t write a great book. You’ll write a technically correct, emotionally flat one.
Rules can stop you from making mistakes. They cannot help you make choices. And writing is nothing but choices.
What Actually Matters Instead
If you want something more reliable than rules, focus on these:
- Clarity: Can the reader understand what’s happening without effort?
- Engagement: Do they want to keep reading?
- Control: Are you choosing effects intentionally, or by accident?
- Consistency: Are you breaking conventions knowingly, not randomly?
You can violate every so-called rule in the book and still succeed, if you know why you’re doing it and who you’re doing it for.
The Litmus Test
The next time someone tells you, “You must never—” Ask yourself:
- Are they speaking about craft… or preference?
- Are they describing a pattern they dislike… or a principle that matters?
- Can they explain why—or do they just repeat the rule louder?
If the answer is “because that’s the rule,” you can safely ignore them.
Final Editor’s Note
Writing advice isn’t wrong because it exists. It’s wrong when it pretends to be universal. Good editors don’t hand you commandments.
They help you understand consequences. And that’s the difference between learning to writand learning to obey.
— Mark
