Hello, writers. Last week we lost one of the greatest writers of our time, Terry Pratchett.
What can you say about a 66-year-old writer who died? That he was beautiful and brilliant? That he loved...
Well, I haven't seen anything that says it better than this.
Terry Pratchett made our world bigger. He invited us to come to the edge and look beyond it, and see not just another world but an endless expanse of stars.
We’ve talked a lot here about the rules of writing and when they can be broken. And a few times we’ve said (or anyway I have) “you can’t break that rule unless you’re Terry Pratchett.”
Breaking the rules, in writing as in other art forms, is the prerogative of people who know them intimately. There’s a reason for this. Rules must be broken with intention, to create something better than what could have been created had the rule been followed.
Some of the rules Terry Pratchett broke:
Your writing must never distract from the story.
It’s a good rule. Being reminded of the storyteller takes us out of the story. Pratchett could get away with breaking it because we loved the storyteller’s voice. Those Pratchett lines… and there are thousands of them… are endlessly jot-down-able and quotable. Some of the Discworld books don’t actually have plots as such. But with writing like that, who cares?
Your metaphors must match your world.
When you suddenly see “not unlike British Rail” in a footnote of a 2nd world fantasy, well, that can be jarring. But when he did it, it worked…. because the voice was so compelling. We were along for the ride no matter how silly it got.
The footnotes!
Footnotes? In a novel? Other than, you know, a literary novel? Well, it’s more common than it used to be. Because Terry Pratchett broke the rule and made it work.
Chapters
Only a handful of the Discworld books are broken into chapters. Two that are, Going Postal and Making Money, have mysterious chapter titles that don’t make sense till after you’ve read the chapter.
POV shifts
You can’t change point of view mid-scene. That’s called headhopping, and good writers don’t do it. But great writers can get away with it.
Those scenes-from-nowhere
Sometimes, interspersed between the scenes that follow the storyline, there’ll be a subplot played out in brief scenes with unnamed characters. I can see an editor saying “But readers won’t know what this means!” Which they won’t, until the fourth or fifth re-read.
Avoid religion and politics
Everyone should read Small Gods. That is all.
Well, that’s not quite all. I looked in vain online for outrage about Small Gods. Okay, there is a tiny little bit of outrage.
And none at all over Pratchett’s many, many other political novels. Not even the one where he went after guns.
Sit down at the typewriter and open a vein.
Once upon a time, a well-intentioned aunt gave me a calendar full of quotes about writing. And every single one of them was of the “open a vein” ilk. 365 days of misery. Terry Pratchett said writing was the most fun you could have with your clothes on. (The climate is cold in England.)
What? Fun?
If you’re not having fun writing, change the way you’re doing it. Change the characters. Change the story. Change the voice. Change the point of view. Change your clothes. Take them off. Break the rules. Do it for Terry Pratchett.
Make the world bigger.
Tonight’s challenge:
Pick a rule of writing. Any rule of writing. Break it.
In memory of Terry Pratchett, break it as spectacularly as you can.
If you want more prompt than that, pick one from our handy list-o-scenarios:
- Goodwife Thankful Goodheart is feeding her hens and minding her own business when she sees that awful Agnes Addlepate giving her the evil eye.
- Belinda sees Lord Postlethwaite-Praxleigh (pronounced Puppy) leaving the ballroom on the arm of her rival, Adelaide, who isn’t even capable of appreciating all he went through in the Peninsular Wars
- The battle isn’t going so well for intrepid mercenary soldier Wallace Higginbotham.
- A callow youth and his/her stout companion, having finally found the sacred Jewel of Togwogmagog, lose it in a messy kitchen.
-Incorruptible detective Scotty Blaine delivers a warning to the local mob boss.
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