3 Writing Rules You Can Break

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Some rules are absolutely made to be broken.

There are tons of rules in writing. Some we need to follow to be understood, others are more like guidelines, and some have gotten lost in translation, and no longer mean what we think they mean. Some are even stated as if they were absolutes, such as, "You should never use adverbs."

It's a lot to remember. However, once you know the rules, you can break the rules.

The trick is knowing which ones to ignore. 

I know how to spell, but that doesn't give me the freedom to misspell everything in my manuscript because I think it'll look cool. If you read my work you wouldn't think, "Wow, she's being really creative with the spelling. She must know what she's doing." You'd think, "Wow, she didn't even bother to proof this." Or worse, "She has no clue what she's doing."

 

And that's the danger with breaking rules just because you can. Unless it's very clear why you're doing it, the reader is going to assume you made a mistake or don't know any better.

For example, knowing the rules so you can break them means that if you know how to write a sentence and you understand what a sentence fragment is, then you can write something that uses a sentence fragment in a way that gives it dramatic punch and improves the overall story. It won't just be a weird choppy fragment in the middle of a sentence. 

Breaking a rule to make the writing stand out allows you to show some aspect of the story you couldn't otherwise do.

(Here's more on Grammar and You: What You Need to Know to Write).

Let's look at a few common rules and how you might break them:

1. Never use adverbs.

Adverbs have gotten a bum deal over the years. It's not that adverbs are bad, but because they're so often misused, I suspect it’s became easier for the writing gurus to just say, "Don't use them." It's so ingrained in our heads we never think to question it.

They're only bad when used poorly, and that's often due to lazy writing. Instead of providing strong verbs and actions to get an idea across, you toss out an adverb and make the reader do all the work.

How to break this rule: This one is easy—just make sure the adverb is the right word for the job, same as you would any other word. It says exactly what you want it to say, and there’s no stronger alternative.

(Here's more on How to Use Adverbs)

2. Never use that, just, only, very.

These words pop into our text because they flow naturally off the tongue. They're also easy to misuse, since they often modify the wrong word.

"She only likes chocolate ice cream" has a different meaning than, "She likes only chocolate ice cream." The first example says she likes nothing else but chocolate ice cream (as in, that's all she likes in the whole wide world), the second says she likes no other flavor of ice cream but chocolate.

Just is the same way.

Very is often used to modify things that can't be "very" anything, like "very unique." Unique is one of a kind, You can't get more "one of a kind."

How to break this rule: More times than not, you can delete the word from the sentence and not lose anything, but sometimes it makes the sentence read better. Rhythm is an important part of writing, and these small words can go a long way to defining a character's voice.

Just and only are also judgment words that work well to anchor a reader in a particular character’s point of view. "It was just Larry" means more than "It was Larry." 

Look at your sentence and read it with and without the word. If it makes sense and reads fine without it, chances are you can get rid of it. It the sentence reads well with it, keep it.

(Here's more with Three Words That Are Killing Your Manuscript)

3. Eliminate dialogue tags.

I suspect this one evolved because dialogue tags using adverbs are a common problem for new writers. It's also common to see a new writer tagging every single line of dialogue, even if there are only two people speaking. Writers will also struggle to avoid “said” and use other words to tag dialogue, ending up with way too many versions of gasped, asked, exclaimed, cried, moaned, etc. 

Dialogue tags cause trouble when they draw attention to themselves. They're meant to be invisible, which is why said is a great choice. Readers barely notice said unless there are a lot of them close together.

How to break this rule:  Dialogue tags clarify your writing, but make sure you're tagging in a way that helps the story, not hurts it. Instead of always saying "he said" or any derivative of it, try using stage direction.

John shook his head. "That's not what I mean." 

We see John act then speak, so we naturally assign the speech to him. 

Tagging is more than just using a "he said" type phrase. It's all about making sure the identity of the speaker is clear.

(Here's more on Tag! You're It: Talking About Dialogue Tags)

Just because there’s a rule against it, doesn’t mean it can’t be done. 

If your sentence or scene will be stronger if you break a rule, and its meaning is clear, then go ahead and break it.

Any rules that you've been wondering about?

*Originally published January 2011. Last updated July 2023.

If you're looking for more to improve your craft (or a fun fantasy read), check out one of my writing books or novels:

In-depth studies in my Skill Builders series include Understanding Conflict (And What It Really Means), and Understanding Show Don't Tell (And Really Getting It). My Foundations of Fiction series includes Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure, a self-guided workshop for plotting a novel, and the companion Plotting Your Novel Workbook, and my Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft series, with step-by-step guides to revising a novel. 

Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The Shifter, was chosen for the 2014 list of "Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read" from the Georgia Center for the Book. It was also shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize (2011), and The Truman Award (2011).

She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy.

She's the founder of Fiction University and has written multiple books on writing, including Understanding Show, Don't Tell (And Really Getting It), Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure, and the Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft series.

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