Maybe that’s supposed to be a joke, but the first rule’s aside about a specific author seemed serious, so it’s hard to tell. I’m sorry, Elmore, but a prologue doesn’t suddenly become good if the author includes some writing advice you agree with. The second half of this rule is very weird. The list goes on, but the foundational issue is always the same: a prologue takes place before the story starts, and if the story hasn’t started yet, there’s no reason for the reader to care. Or the prologue might be spent establishing an unnecessary narrative framing device. Another common one is to prop up a slow beginning by stuffing the prologue full of meaningless action. Backstory needs to be trickled in where it’s important for readers to know otherwise, it’s difficult to keep track of.īut that’s only one of the many mistakes writers make with prologues. Although, to be clear, it’s usually not a good idea to condense all of a character’s backstory into a flashback scene later in the story either. No need to have a special backstory section that’s isolated from the main story. He’s right that prologues are often little more than backstory, and if that backstory is important, it can be established within the story itself. Someone must have told Leonard about my crusade against prologues, because this is a rule after my own heart. I want to figure out what he looks like from the way he talks.” ![]() He says: “I like a lot of talk in a book and I don’t like to have nobody tell me what the guy that’s talking looks like. There is a prologue in John Steinbeck’s Sweet Thursday, but it’s OK because a character in the book makes the point of what my rules are all about. A prologue in a novel is backstory, and you can drop it in anywhere you want. But these are ordinarily found in non-fiction. The Second RuleĪvoid prologues: they can be annoying, especially a prologue following an introduction that comes after a foreword. On their own, skillful descriptions of weather can provide novelty, but adding conflict will also help you build tension, which is just as important.Ĭonclusion: Mostly useless. While we’re on the topic of conflict, any weather you start the story with should still have it, even if you’re really good at describing snow like this Lopez guy apparently is. ![]() ![]() A storm or drought can make for excellent conflict, so long as you use better description than “a dark and stormy night.” Granted, there should also be people in this weather, as you want to introduce your protagonist as soon as possible, but that’s still starting the story with weather! This rule also precludes using weather as your conflict. You can just as easily make a boring first chapter by focusing too much on terrain description or even on people who don’t have any meaningful conflict. It’s true that a lot of conflict-free weather will make for a boring start, but weather isn’t unusually bad here. So, how about this rule’s substance? It’s not great! Stories should open with conflict, as that’s what hooks readers. Even if the rule’s substance is great, presentation like that will put people off. My first rule when writing a first rule about writing is that you shouldn’t include stereotypes about Indigenous people, to say nothing of the outdated nomenclature. If you happen to be Barry Lopez, who has more ways than an Eskimo to describe ice and snow in his book Arctic Dreams, you can do all the weather reporting you want. ![]() The reader is apt to leaf ahead looking for people. If it’s only to create atmosphere, and not a character’s reaction to the weather, you don’t want to go on too long. Leonard mostly wrote westerns, crime fiction, and thrillers, which are a bit outside the traditional Mythcreants wheelhouse, but it’s important to branch out from time to time. We’ve critiqued Vonnegut and Gaiman, and now it’s the late Elmore Leonard’s turn. It was late glorious October outside, and the whole town was covered with yellow, red, brown, and crimson crispy leaves.Writers love to offer lists of rules for writing, especially if they’ve got a book to promote and a major newspaper offers them some free advertising. Sunday was a marvelous, uplifting day, perfect for our usual slow and cozy strolls around the picturesque autumn park. Read the following samples, guess what’s wrong with them, and never write like this.ġ. These excerpts are collected from different stories, either written by me (sometimes, when you edit, you find monsters), or by other authors. Reconsideration letter: how to write one?įree Essay Writer Examples of Bad Writingīelow are sample excerpts from what I think is a really bad writing.How to Write an Autobiography: Key Points to Consider.How to Write an Excellent Travelogue – 10 Useful Tips.Best Online Tutoring Platforms for Teachers.Best Personal Statement Writing Service.Best AI Chrome extensions for college students.
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