As writers everyone wants the secrets to great storytelling, to the perfect sentence, fantastic characters, interesting ideas and giant piles of cash. We look for rules than can be applied to our writing that will tell us how craft stories that come alive. Yet the one rule to writing that we can't escape is that there are no rules that can't be broken, and breaking them is often the only way to create the stories we want. Yet to break them effectively you must know what they are.

- Use correct grammar

The most classic example of a rule you must learn well so that you can break it when necessary is that of grammar. It's not exciting or fun as a rule but if your grammar is bad you're going to lose credibility and the rest of what you write doesn't matter. Bad grammar is like going out on a date with food in your teeth, you might be the perfect date, but they aren't going to notice.

- Show don't tell

With the basics down the next piece of advice often given is show don't tell. This is sound advice and if you use it all the time you'll drive your readers insane. The real rule is to learn what to show and what to tell. Take the time to describe your main character, but when the waiter brings his water just tell them what is happening. Showing everything can be good practice but not always good storytelling. Learn to tell the difference.

- Know more about your characters than you tell

When it comes to writing characters the only thing you can really do is know more about them than is on the page. This is also where the advice show don't tell comes into the most use. Showing the reader who your character is the only effective way to truly make them believe it.

- Tell the truth.

Telling the truth isn't easy because any truth worth telling is dangerous. People will disagree with you, people will even dislike you but if you want to write anything worthwhile that is the cost. Don't censor yourself.

- Have passion

No matter how much skill you have at writing it won't make up for not caring about your subject. Find something that you care about and trust that others care about it too.

- Read, Read, Read

The fastest way to improve your writing is to read. The best advice anyone can give you about learning to write is to read more. A good book is the perfect textbook for a writer and a bad book is wonderful motivation. (If this can get published anything can.).

There are as many piece of advice on how to write in the world as there are writers and all of them are wrong at write depending on the circumstances. So in the end all there is for you to do is write until you find out what works for you and then find advice that tells you how to do that better.

Learn more about this author, Elton Gahr.
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