Mastering the Rules

Although no one can teach you to write, you can learn to write with eloquence and power by mastering the rules. That sounds like plodding advice, as if I’m counseling you to spend your life between the musty shelves of a library reading grammar books. That’s not it. But, basic grammatical and structural skills are essential to creating script that is persuasive and intriguing. The purpose of this knowledge is to empower writers to write at their highest peak of skill, to communicate clearly through moving language.

What writers enjoy most is submersion in the intuitive process of creation. Like watching a movie that no one else can see, writing is a process of discovery. Very good writers read a lot and write a lot. To write well we must practice the rules we know.

Good amateur writers write when they can fit it into their schedule. Good professional writers write the way others breathe…all the time. But, all this practice means nothing without knowing how to construct a sentence correctly. It’s bewitching to want to break the rules, to rebel against their conformity. But, without a mastery of basic writing concepts, we can’t break rules in ways that attract and enthrall our readership.

So, trust your instinct but teach yourself the rules, before you break them. Remember, everyone can write. Everyone should write. But, writing with power and poignancy is the result of both using the rules and honoring our intuition.