So now that you know the rules what are you going to do? Don’t lie to me you are not going to follow every single rule there is out there. That is way to much to remember and what is the fun in that. Rules are meant to be broken. Well when it comes to being creative. Maybe some rules in life are meant to be followed, but this isn’t a post about life advice we are trying to be creatives. So let’s break some rules. We are going to look at the rules from last week and give some brief ideas or ways we can break those rules to help with our writing.

If you read our post last week you would know these are the rules we want to follow. But how can we break them?

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1. Be specific - don’t say things in a broad way. Explain things in detail and paint a clear picture for the reader.

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Maybe being vague in your description will force your readers to use their imagination. Think about what the purpose of your writing is. If you don’t need the reader to imagine a certain thing then let them come up with parts themselves. You can be just descriptive enough to lead them on a journey but still allow them to feel like they are a part of the creation of your story. Allow them to think for themselves.

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2. Show don’t tell - Your readers are smart. Let them use their imaginations when they are reading your work. Use descriptive words to describe the situation instead of just telling the reader what happened.

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Maybe you don’t believe your readers are smart. Maybe they are the dumbest group of people in the world. Yes this is mean but unfortunately sometimes this is true. Maybe you need to follow rule one so you can break rule two. Maybe you want to lead someone to a very specific place and giving them the freedom to imagine that place will ruin the destination. If this is the case show them explicitly what they need to see. Paint the world for them and don’t leave any room for imagination. Once again it all depends on what your goal for the reader is. Once you know that you will have a better understanding of when you can and shouldn’t break rules.

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3. Don’t judge your first draft - We tend to judge our work based on someone else’s final published work. I promise you that is not how they started out. Give yourself grace and don’t judge yourself based on your beginning. Watch yourself grow.

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I said it was fine to break rules but be careful breaking this one. We all have room to grow and judging our first piece of work may not always lead us to where we want to go or it may inspire us to grow quickly. Like I said earlier some rules are meant to be broken and some are not. This one is less of a rule and more of a good way to live out your creative life.

Each of our brains are wired differently and this rule may inspire us or it could send us into a downward spiral. You know yourself the best so choose to do what is best for you in each situation.

I hope this week you will step out of your comfort zone and try something new. Break a rule or two in your creative process and see what happens. You have just find a new since of inspiration that you have never had before. If you do please share it will me! I would love to see what new ideas you have brought to life. Remember you are not it this alone share your work with people who you can inspire.

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