WriteHive Online Conference 2024: Breaking the Rules–The Path to Authentic Writing
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Now that the 2024 WriteHive Online Conference panels are available on their YouTube channel, I’m catching up on the ones I missed during the conference itself and sharing some of the things I gleaned from them here!
Lisa Wood’s presentation on “Breaking the Rules–The Path to Authentic Writing” covered a number of the so-called “rules” of writing that you can break … and some that you should never break. The gist of the presentation was that some rules can prevent an author from writing with their authentic voice, so it’s important to recognize those rules and know that it’s okay to break them.
Some of the “rules” she talked about breaking included outlines (you don’t have to have one), character development (you don’t have to know everything about your characters before you start writing), working across genres (it’s allowed and not as looked down upon as it once was), self-publishing (similar to the previous comment), and more. She also mentioned a few rules that you shouldn’t break: not sending a story that doesn’t fit the guidelines to a market (topically, genre, length, etc.) and failing to proofread. Overall, though, the presentation was very positive, and she reiterated several times that being true to yourself, your goals, and your voice, regardless of the “rules,” is what is most important. (But don’t forget to proofread!)
You can watch this presentation on WriteHive’s YouTube channel. It clocks in right at 45 minutes, and it’s time well spent!
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