Authors Breaking the “Rules” of Writing in Their Books

I am currently reading a popular middle grade series: The Guardians of Ga’Hoole. In one of the books, I noticed the author broke one of the “rules” of writing. In this particular chapter I read, the author switched point-of-view (POV) between two characters. I have been told that, for middle grade books, this particular thing is bad.

 

That particular sentiment was made loud and clear by Karen Cioffi in her blog post "Kid's Stories – Should They All Become Books?" on the site, Writers on the Move.  

 

In her post, she writes:

 

"You’re writing a picture book or chapter book and have more than one point-of-view (POV).

 

This can happen when you have two or more main characters in your story or it can happen if you have head-hopping in your story.

 

Let’s go back a step and define POV. Every story has to be told from someone’s perspective. In other words, who is the story about.

 

It’s essential in young children’s writing that you clearly define who the protagonist (main character) is. And, there should only be one.

 

Jerry Jenkins, author of over 190 books, says he avoids slipping into an omniscient viewpoint “by imagining my Point of View or Perspective Character as my camera—I’m limited to writing only what my character ‘camera’ sees, hears, and knows.”

 

So, POV is a critical element of your story. Check to make sure you have only one POV and its that of the protagonist."

 

Oops.

 

When I learned that you should not have more than one point-of-view in a chapter of a book that is specifically written for young readers, I couldn’t help but wince. That’s actually something I did in a middle grade book I wrote years ago called The GHOST Group. This particular book is a series. In the first two installments, that head-hopping did happen. This particular book has not sold well, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s because of that very thing.

 

While this happened in the old books of the series, it has certainly not occurred in the following books. With the books I am currently writing in this series, each chapter is written in one character’s point-of-view.

 

I am not alone in breaking a “rule” in writing my books. Other authors have broken the rules of writing with their books, but saw different results. Cormac McCarthy didn’t use quotation marks for any of the dialogue in his novel, The Road. James Joyce had long, run-on sentences in his novel, Ulysses.

 

But if you REALLY want a good example of a book that broke the rules of writing, let us examine the novel, The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Not only does the novel start with a prologue, but it has TWO first-person point-of-view characters and it is written in the present tense. And let us not forget that at one point, the author transitions to later in the day simply by writing "Later that evening."

 

But somehow or another, the author pulled it off. The story still worked, in some way. Sure, the reading experience may have been jarring for some, but the author managed to write the story in a way that was acceptable for publication.

 

Not only this, but she got away with it – just as several other authors “got away with” breaking the rules of writing. This isn't necessarily a bad thing! In fact, I adore some of the books I learned "broke the rules" of writing, such as The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, and all of the Harry Potter books authored by J.K. Rowling. Their books were still accepted by the reading public, with some of them becoming bestsellers and being turned into movies.

 

In case you are wondering what the “rules” of writing are, here are some of them which I came across in my research for this article:

 

·        Write what you know.

·        Write a novel with only one or two POVs.

·        No prologues.

·        Don’t start a chapter with the weather.

·        Show, don’t tell.

·        Proper grammar and punctuation throughout the book.

·        No made-up words.

·        You must be an expert or authority on your book’s subject.

·        Start a chapter in the middle of action.

·        Never publish a first draft.

 

One writer I know pointed out that it didn’t make sense that we writers cannot include made-up words or that it’s impossible to write only what we know if we write science fiction and fantasy. Good point! It may seem that a lot of those rules are falling by the wayside these days, especially the “write what you know” rule. I myself have broken that rule many times with my nonfiction books, in which I have had to do extensive research for in order to write them! That alone kept me from shopping such books around to big name publishers, because I am not an “authority” on that book’s topic.

 

Breaking the rules of writing is not new for authors. Lots of authors have done this. When I was reading "Five Books That Broke Sacred Writing Rules (And Yet We Love Them)" by Kathleen Baldwin, one commenter pointed out:

 

"How about Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon?

 

The rule it breaks? A constant barrage of massive infodumps on very diverse subjects that are sure to bore the hell out of some readers. The book is constantly telling instead of showing."

 

Reading over her article, there were only two books I was familiar with in which I agreed with her opinion about the "rules" that were broken. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one such book, in which she says there are "multiple regional dialects that are challenging to understand." No kidding! This is another one of the books which I am currently reading. In one chapter, the runaway slave, Jim, has a VERY regional dialect, and even though I could slightly grasp what words he meant to say, his was a dialogue that was still difficult to read. (The funny thing is, though, that the more I read his dialogue, the more I caught on to understanding it.)

 

In some respects, perhaps there really cannot be any “rules” for writing fiction. After all, fiction is a product of a person’s creativity, and part of that creativity has a lot to do with how a story is told. Even so, as writers, we have a responsibility to write our work with proper grammar, punctuation and correct spelling. Without those writing elements, some readers may struggle to read our work.

 

The fact is that there are all kinds of books written in all kinds of ways. Some authors have succeeded despite breaking the rules of writing, while the more unknown authors still have to write according to the rules just to get their foot in the door. If an unknown writer manages to sell a book that is yet another example of a book that has broken the rules of writing, and the book does well, then perhaps that can only mean we readers are growing more receptive to books written in a way we are not yet comfortable with but willing to accept.

 

The Questionable Memoir

 

“Write a memoir.”

 

When that idea first struck, I thought it was crazy. Me? Write a memoir? Pfft. Why should I write a memoir? I’m a nobody. An unknown. And unrecognized person. I am not famous, wealthy or a public person.

 

I am just a writer.

 

Granted, I have been through A LOT of things in life, and a lot of those things shaped who I am today. I did try to commit suicide once, but I am not the only person who has been through such experiences. As a person with disabilities, I have experienced discrimination. I have endured abuse and struggled with alcoholism for years. But mine is not a unique story. I know there are people out there who have been through worse.

 

But, I do know that mine is not much of an ordinary life, either. I suffered 3^rd degree burns before I was 2. I became deaf when I was 13. And, apparently, being burned AND deaf has put me into a minority. In fact, I once got an email from someone who was also burned and deaf, and she commented that she hardly ever found anyone else like her, or like me.

 

This is very true. I also have not come across many people who were burned AND deaf. It has often made me wonder just how many of us there are out there.

 

And not only am I burned and deaf, but I also have a hand disability, which has compromised my attempts to learn sign language. (A lot of hearing people are shocked when I tell them I am not fluent in ASL. Fingerspelling and lipreading is how I communicate with hearing people. However, I know someone who teaches ASL, and I am communicating with her about how I can STILL be fluent in ASL even though I can only sign with one hand.)

 

Being burned and deaf has definitely created some interesting experiences in my life. Sadly, I have experienced discrimination on both fronts. I’m either discriminated against for being deaf or for being a burn survivor. I have had many negative experiences at jobs that had made me wonder if they were because I didn’t look all that attractive to those who acted out against me. I also wondered if I was turned down for positions or jobs because I refuse to cover my scars with make-up and present myself as I am, with burn scars on my face and everything.

 

So, yes, it is possible that my own memoir just might have some marketability. Maybe people will be interested in it. Hopefully, an agent would be interested in it! And I would hope that readers might be interested in it too.

 

I even have a title for it. The title actually captures a common name I was called in elementary school.

 

Still, I kept wondering: SHOULD I have a memoir? Do I deserve one? Like I said, I’m not famous. Who is going to care? On top of that, I haven’t even found my place in this world yet. Yes, I’m a writer who is getting my writing out there, but as far as having a “place” in society, some kind of position that is respected, that’s not there. I’m not a teacher, nurse, first responder, award-winning-something-or-other, or even a popular person. People don’t know my name. They don’t know who I am. I HAVE done volunteering in the past, but nothing recent. I’m nobody’s hero and nobody’s “special person.” I am not a celebrity or actress, nor do I want to be. I don’t want the spotlight, attention or adoring fans.

 

I am just a writer toiling away in obscurity.

 

And, yes, I KNOW I can change all that by putting in the effort to make those things happen, but I don’t WANT to be a teacher, nurse, first responder or award winner. I don’t want to be those things, because I just don’t fit into those profiles. I know I am meant for something MORE, but I can’t figure out what it is yet. I WANT to contribute, but I haven’t been able to find the right way to contribute. Sure, I write books and stuff, but that’s not enough.

 

Basically, I am asking myself: Am I even DESERVING of having written a memoir? My life is not at its peak just yet. I know there’s more to do, and more to write about.

 

But, even still, I am also wondering: Am I too young to write my memoirs? I am not even in my 50s yet.

 

But then I read this article in the New York Times and realized, you don’t need to be a certain age to write, or even start writing, your memoirs. 

 

 

So I started writing my memoirs. Just anything that I could remember.

 

That, too, is another thing. I wanted to write what I could remember, while I still can remember those things! I needed to get those experiences down, while they are still fresh enough for me to recall them in detail. (I strongly suggest that EVERYONE write down things they go through while they can still remember them, because the day will come when the memory is not so fresh in our minds. This is another reason why I encourage people to keep journals. A journal is the best source of information for recalling events in detail. Well, that, and a blog.)

 

I am writing what I can remember in this memoir. I know what this book should focus on, so everything that I write in it is about that focus. (I don’t believe in writing tell-all books, so I’m not putting into this book something it really doesn’t need.)

 

Yes, I am writing my memoir. I don’t know yet if it will be published or not. I don’t know yet if anyone will want to read it.

 

All I do know is that I must write it. And write it I am.

 

NOTE:

 

I wrote the above blog post over a week ago. The very next day, something happened. Something that I walked away from and suddenly realized, “That’s it!”

 

I know now what I must do with the rest of my life. I know now what kind of contribution I must make.

 

It WILL mean going back to school, but I am willing to put in that effort. And it will take time to get there, but I’ll keep going.

 

I know this is what I MUST do with my life now. And it all fits with a common theme in my life story: Taking a bad experience from my past and using it for something good. Something that will help others.

 

This won’t make me famous and I am just fine with that. I don’t want to be famous. I don’t do things to get attention. I can happily live my life without being famous, important or someone with a bazillion of admirers around the world. I do things because I feel that I must do them.

 

Writing my memoir is one of them.