Writing Rules for Me

It's spring break in the 'Ville and finally feels like beautiful weather is just around the corner.  Yay!  I love spring and summer!

Anyway, enough about that and on to writing.  There are lots of rules to writing and there are lots of resources to finding them.  This post is not about those.  This is about having your own rules for your writing.  I'm gonna share a few of mine.

First and foremost for me, always a happy ending.  I know this will make my reading predictable to a certain degree but I'm okay with that.  I prefer reading books with happy endings and feel so frustrated when there's no resolution at the end of a long story.  I can list several well-written books that disappointed me at the end but they were bestsellers and lauded by critics.  Some people like that.  Remember, there's something for everybody and I doubt I'm the only one who feels this way.  This doesn't mean there won't be sad things occurring or deaths (yikes!) but there will always be an acceptable resolution for the primary characters.

Second, is the use of a certain type of profanity.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I employ a great deal of colorful language, some that even others might consider inappropriate; however, there's one in particular I choose not to use and it starts with God.  This is my personal preference.  It's a little more difficult than you might think to leave this one out.  Men in particular seem to favor it when angry or frustrated.  Just means I have to be a little more creative;-0

Finally, I don't use infidelity as a romantic plot point.  It always has negative consequences in my books.  It is a plot point frequently but not for the two main characters.  It may have led them to their current circumstances or be an issue in their past, but that's all.  I don't personally want to romanticize infidelity in marriage.

I have other little rules I follow too.  I like my writing spicy but I stop at crossing certain lines in order to keep it mostly mainstream.  Still, the above are my big rules.  I hope it doesn't make me sound self-righteous.  I don't judge others for employing them, I just don't choose to myself.  Just like I don't write fantasy or sci-fi.  I have to narrow the scope somewhere and I think it makes sense to have your own ideas about what you're comfortable with.  Who knows, I could look back at this ten years from now and wonder what the heck I was thinking.  I'd like to know if there are certain rules other authors follow.

Song of the day, and this is an uptempo one!  My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark, by Fall Out Boy.  Makes you wanna dance on a warm, sunshiny day!