BREAKING the RULES by Linda Swift

There is an old adage that "Rules are made to be broken" and I would only add "sometimes." This truth is never more evident to me than in my writing. I understand that rules are made for a reason and breaking them can result in dire consequences. However, writing is a creative process and sticking to the "rules" can place constraints on creativity that can kill a story.

Each genre has its own set of rules and woe be unto the author who breaks them. This is often seen as ignorance on the part of the person writing. It is also used to differentiate a beginner from a professional. I think it is very important to know the rules in order to break them when it serves our needs best.

Short stories are a good example. Because of their brevity, every word counts and every act must serve a purpose. More than one character is generally needed to move the story forward. One of my first stories, Winner Take All, had only one character and a creeping vine. It   was awarded the Fiction Skills Scholarship at Indiana U. Writers' Conference, competing with stories from all over the US. At the opposite extreme, another early short story, The Good News, had thirteen characters with no clear-cut protagonist. It won the Ball State U. Workshop's Short Story award. I still remember the judge's words when she presented the award.  "Linda Swift has broken all the rules for a short story and it worked." (Both books are now available as ebooks and are part of a collection in print or ebook titled Take Five.) http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Books+by+Linda+Swift

We are admonished to give real historical figures only walk-on parts in our books and never to put words in their mouths. But when I wrote Maid of the Midlands, Mary Queen of Scots insisted on talking! I had "absorbed" an authentic non-fiction book of her entire life, written by an impeccable source, and her thoughts and words came to me as easily as if I were inside her head. We are also told to use dialect very sparingly--speaking a few words or phrases and then letting the reader's imagination fill in from that point. I used the dialect, as I understood it to be spoken, throughout the book. Then I became concerned that it might be too much so I asked the editor how she felt about it. She said it hadn't bothered her at all. Later, due to this publisher's sale, it went to another publisher and editor. This one was very discriminating and spoke English and French, as well as "American." When questioned about the dialect, she asked, "What dialect? I didn't notice it." Another rule broken with good results.

It is written in stone that all romances must have the proverbial "happy ever after" ending. I had a story that did not fit the HEA mold. So I wrote it the way it had to be and a publisher bought it the first time submitted. This story has been given great reviews by all who have read it. To Those Who Wait is currently out of print but I plan to revive it again.

Then there is the rule about the hero and heroine meeting in Chapter One, (some rules even require in the first three pages). The two main characters in my Civil War novel, This Time Forever, did not meet until Chapter Eight (Page 90 of  256 total pages). My agent had difficulty placing the book, partly because in 2000 the Civil War was not a popular subject for romance books. He felt the H&H not being together sooner in the story might be part of the problem and asked me to begin the story where they met in Chapter Eight. I complied  and added a Prologue to briefly summarize the first seven chapters. Submissions continued to meet rejections. Then, just before the beginning of the Civil War Sesquicentennial commemoration, I put the book back together again (having left my agent) and submitted it to a Canadian publisher who accepted it without question. There is irony in the fact that this very "American" story found its first home in another country. And now in its home with Publishing by Rebecca J. Vickery, it has found the most success of all my books. It has also been adapted into a film titled Clarissa's War, soon to be available as a DVD and VIMEO.

So the moral to this post is: Know the rules. Break the rules if it seems the right thing to do. Listen to your characters. Listen to your heart. You will learn the truth and the truth will make you free--free to write the story that was meant to be.

An excerpt from This Time Forever, Chapter 8, when Clarissa and Philip finally meet:

Clarissa was the last to join the group at the foot of the curved stairway where Josiah was completing the introductions of the other women. "And this is my daughter-in-law, Mrs. Clarissa Wakefield. Ladies, may I present Lieutenant Johnson and Captain Burke?"

Clarissa made a slight curtsto the lieutenant as he took her proffered hand and bowed politely. "My pleasure, madam."

Then she extended her hand part way toward the captain before she saw that he wore a faded Federal uniform. She stopped and glanced uncertainly at Lieutenant Johnson.

"Captain Burke is a Confederate prisoner, ma'am," he told her, "but you have nothing to fear. He is also a surgeon and will be in charge of the hospital here."

"Oh, I see." Unsure what protocol dictated, again she tentatively extended her hand. It was taken with a touch so gentle she would not have felt it except for the tremor which passed between them at the contact, causing her to look up into the most penetrating eyes she had ever seen.

For a long moment they stood, warm brown eyes lost in the depths of cool deep blue, then the captain made a visible effort to break the spell and spoke softly, "Charmed."

Clarissa gave a slight nod of acknowledgement and carefully withdrew her hand. The captain was tall and lean; his dark beard didn't quite conceal the hollows of his cheeks and some force she had never felt before made her want to reach out and smooth the weary lines from his handsome face.

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