I’m dissecting the article Hunting Down the Pleonasm, by Allen Guthrie, using it as a cattle prod to search for little nasties in my manuscript. Yep, you can join in the fun, too. Let’s take a looksee at topic #32
32: If something works, forget about the rule that says it shouldn’t.
When you read long articles like this, don’t you just hate it when you get to the end and an author puts in a disclaimer like this?
I’m going to go out on a limb and say MOST of the rules in this series are very important, and should not be broken… but, some can IF DONE CORRECTLY.
Let’s talk about Rule 28 that I morphed into “Don’t make your MC unlikable”. An unlikable MC is possible, if done VERY VERY well.
Ever watch the television show HOUSE? What a jerk that guy was. But a lot of people tuned in, because he was portrayed in a way that made us LOVE HIM anyway.
I WOULD NOT recommend this approach to a new writer. It’s hard.
I’d stick to the rules as closely as you can. Yes, any rule can be broken. Best Selling authors do it all the time. But remember… best-selling authors are not searching for agents or publishers. They’ve “done their time” so to speak.
Save the deviance for later in your career.
So that’s it! All 32 Rules of Hunting Down the Pleonasm
Which one was your favorite?
Which did you learn the most from?
Which do you close your eyes and pretend you don’t know about, ‘cause you don’t wanna listen?
Let’s chat!
Jennifer M Eaton 