Coffee Break: Racers' Rules Part Two

The Dark Skipper's den of iniquity is once again open for business. Simply name your poison. I'm going to indulge in an Irish coffee.
Last week we talked about writer's rules (guidelines) and their various pros and cons. Still on the subject of rules, I got to thinking about this blog and The Race in general.		Perhaps rules are unnecessary as, let's face it, it's not really a serious race. Is it? Anyway, looking at the things on the left side-bar, I realise that I'm rather unclear about the Novel Race and how it functions.
The categories seem to be "New Work", "Rewrites" and "Complete Started Work". However, isn't rewriting * really just part of completing a started work? What is defined as complete? First draft, full publication or something in between? What about projects where more than one author is involved, where (say) one of the co-authors is not a Novel Racer?

It also occurs to me that the display of the "medallists" on the left may not be fair and accurate. Some of you may well have finished the race, however we define that to be, and have slipped under my radar. If that's the case then I apologise.

Perhaps I'm trying to be overly formal about all of this, but in any case please let me know what you think.

Talking of races, I'm off to take part in the Colworth Marathon Challenge this weekend. This means I'm not actually around to participate in the comments, though I'll have a read of them all when I get back.

Have fun!

* I don't know about you, but I've never liked the term "rewrite". It implies you're scrapping it and starting again. The term "editing" seems much more appropriate. Unless of course you really are scrapping and starting again.

So if you like, an extra question for this week could be: What's your editing process; what steps do you take to get from first draft to a submission-ready book?

Coffee Break: Racers' Rules

The Captain's Café is now open for business. It's well-stocked with a multitude of beverages and snacks for you enjoyment. You know what else? Somewhere in the world it's bound to be Beer O'clock, so why not indulge in a tipple?

When I started writing more seriously, back in February of 2007, there were no rules. I just got on with it and told the story. There were no rules because I wasn't aware of them, not because they didn't exist. As you can imagine, my first story Fugue in D Minus was riddled with errors which I now cringe at (I really should go back and fix them one day).

Some years down the line, I've learned of, though not necessarily obeyed, several writer's rules. Of course, we all know they're just guidelines really, not rules, but I'm sure you know the sort of things I'm talking about.

I've been thinking quite a bit about rules recently, and I have to say that I'm very hesitant about them, even sceptical sometimes. I'm starting to think that many of them are just too prescriptive for my writing. I'm not published and certainly no expert, so I may have got this totally wrong. It's just that I sometimes hear quite a few rules being quoted in a manner that suggests less real thought and more blind faith. Because they are "what you're supposed to do".

What are your thoughts on this? Do you follow the rules? What are your reasons for conforming or not conforming? To prompt your thinking, here's a list of some of the rules I can think of off the top of my head, in no particular order...

Use all five senses. Avoid clichés (like the plague). Show, don't tell. Avoid unnecessary adverbs. Stick to one point of view per scene/chapter.

Don't overuse speech tags in dialogue. Never use a long word when short ones will do. Murder your darlings. Don't get it right, get it written. Remember to proof read carefully to see if you words out.

I'm sure there are loads more, so feel free to add to the list for discussion.

My current belief is that courses and how-to books are great tools in a writer's toolbox, but that we shouldn't follow their instruction without question. As a scientist I was taught to question pretty much everything. Tuition, rules and books can often teach us one way to write but not the only way to write.

Let the debate begin...