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| If this is faster than light, how can we see the fireworks? |
Science fiction and fantasy are genres where almost anything can happen — as long as the author can make it seem plausible, and as long as it's part of a good story. But that doesn't mean there are no rules. If anything, the fact that these genres are so wide open mean that there are tons of rules out there, some unspoken and some written in black and white.
And sometimes, breaking the rules is the only way to tell a really fascinating story. Here are 10 rules of SF and fantasy that more authors should consider breaking from time to time.
Note: We're not saying you must break any of the rules below. You can craft a brilliant work of fiction while still following all of the rules below. And most of these rules exist for a reason — because if you break them without knowing what you're doing, you can screw up horrendously. Some of the rules below represent things that may have been done to death in the past, so it's best to make sure you have a fresh spin. But at the same time, too many rules can be a creativity-killer, and sometimes it's good to bust out some illegal moves.
Continue reading: http://io9.com/5879434/10-writing-rules-we-wish-more-science-fiction-and-fantasy-authors-would-break
Good stuff. Rules in writing are almost always guidelines. It's not even always true that a period should end a sentence and a capitalized word should begin one. Writing is an art, not a science... ;)
ReplyDeleteYep. I always tell folks in panels that rule are made to be broken, but only when you know why the rule is there in the first place and what it actually is.
ReplyDelete