9 Authors Who Break The Storytelling Rules

Sometimes an author thinks they are breaking a rule, and are doing something we figured out 5 generations ago doesn't work, with a library of commentary as to why. Life is such a fun cycle xD

A better word for the main character than "likeable" is intriguing.

Regarding characters that don't change -- yes, of course, such characters are well suited to serialized stories like Jack Reacher or James Bond or Sherlock Holmes -- but it's important to remember that, at one time, there was only a single Sherlock Holmes story, a single James Bond novel, a single Jack Reacher novel -- and if those hadn't succeeded, standing on their own, there wouldn't have been more. So those stories, with central characters that don't change, have to work on their own. Obviously, you have characters who, when faced with the challenges of the story, need to change in order to accomplish the ultimate goal, whatever it might be. But there are other stories, ones in which the hero embodies some fundamental moral virtue which the events of the story will test -- and the need is for that character to hold on to whatever those virtues may be in the face of ever-growing obstacles -- and ultimately, it's by holding on -- it's by staying true to his nature, that he ultimately succeeds. And that works in a single story or in a series of stories.

The problem is that many writer do not understand why we have these rules so when they break them it is very often done very poorly. Also many writers do not know how to break these rules so the story work. I think there so little books that break these rules and still it work because it can be hard to do on the too many character rule- you forgot having too many characters can cause the reader not connect to characters bc they are not given time to breath andso they become so flat overall good video

prince myshkin made the same mistake the King of Kings made... "I was ashamed of myself when I realised life was a costume party and I attended with my real face." all the world is a stage...to be ones self...or not to be...that is the question...

I believe Terry Patchett breaks a few of these rules too and his stories are fantastic!

I think I've broken each and every single one of them. You do what the story that you want to tell needs.

I agree with everything you said and have broken all 9 rules, especially the head-hop one. I write lit fic and I like writing in third-person omniscient because I like writing ensemble characters. Omniscient gives me a lot of freedom to juggle my 5-7 characters. I organise my head-hops into different paragraphs (my rule is to NEVER head-hop in one paragraph), and always begin the paragraph with the character's name. Richard Powers does this too for The Overstory.

Just to be clear, these writers have mastered their craft before they broke the rules. They knew how to make up for their rule breaking so that their stories would still work. If you don’t know how to compensate, your story will fall apart. Reacher works because he changes the lives and opinions of people around him.

I noticed Stephen King did head hoping in IT, The Tommyknockers, The Stand...And switches POVs in Christine. But, its Stephen King so..... Also, Brett Easton Ellis does the best POV switch of all time IMO in his novel American Psycho near the end for one chapter it goes from first person to third person. It is unexpected and an insane ride.

With the many characters one is… you can have as many as you want… if you’ll use them. If you’re just throwing names for characters that will never show up again… then yeah that’s annoying

There are no rules in writing, just guidelines and conventions. Here's the rule that comes from that: the greater your skill as a writer, the more you can get away with diverging from convention. Hence, probably the greatest writer of the last two generations, Cormac McCarthy, c could do whatever he wanted. And diverge he did.

About switching from third person to first, check out Immortal Techniques ‘Dance with the Devil’. While it’s a rap, the principles relevant. After pulling off arguably the greatist sick twist in the history of writing- publish or print, he switches to first person for a coda twist. I’m getting teary eyed just thinking about it. You won’t be disappointed.

A way to break the 1st/3rd person rule is to have an in-world narrator. That character is telling you about another character doing stuff, but can interject with their own perspective and opinions.

I broke the first, second and the third rules, and my novella is in third person.

Rules are good. Rules give you a ground to stand on. Break the rules only if you really understand them. If you break it and fail, all you'll get to hear is 'We told you so'. Be very sure of what you are doing. And just because you managed to break a rule successfully once, it doesn't mean you can break it all the time.

Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo, a Mexican author, is a good example of a story that switches from first to third person narration. It's one of the most astonishing novels I've ever read. A great example of an unlikeable main character is Raskolnikov in Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. One of the greatest books ever written! Notes from Underground, by the same author, is another. As for H G Well's War of the Worlds... Wells had a scientific cast of mind, and he recognised that if we were invaded in the manner described in his story, in all likelihood it would be the bacteria and viruses present on our planet which would finish them off. It's probably what would happen, and that makes it a satisfying conclusion.

I was actually thinking about a story in both first and third person - had the plot idea and characters ready, but was unsure when I picked up and read King's Christine for the first time. Great use of it and I was like, "OK - yeah! I can make that work." The funny part was that after I finished Christine, I followed it up with The Amulet of Samarkand by sheer coincidence! I guess the writing gods really want me to write this book in a 1st/3rd person style!

Thanks for telling me exactly how to not do what people tell me to do lol. Personally I head hop between more than two characters in a scene all the time but I guess that’s because I’m confident I can do it in a way that makes sense for the reader.

In all seriousness...I was never a great fan of rules when it comes to writing. And I am even shocked that there ARE rules and people who follow them. The most interesting books are unconventional trying new things. Im a pantser and its near impossible for me to follow certain writing rules, exept for a few: Continuity, chapters and keeping it understandable, yet interesting. Thats it. I never worry about character arcs and all of that. The story tells me what to do, when to do it and why. And its a nightmare for me to go and plot like crazy. My imagination just doesnt work like that and a create WHILE writing, not beforehand. Sometimes I even get to surprise myself with new ways, new things and even characters, I thought would be around for longer, died very suddenly 🤣 So, yeah, I can say that I write more or less rule-free.