Thus Saith the Muse

These are the commandments given to me by my muse.  By following them I'm guaranteed neither salvation nor success.  But by breaking them, I'm inviting failure.

I - Thou shalt make no excuses, only time to write.
Writing is a choice.  A writer is one who has chosen to discipline his writing.  An author is a writer who has successfully persevered in his chosen discipline.

II - Thou shalt indulge inspiration, foster creativity, and write what thou loveth.
Food is the nourishment for people.  Imagination is the nourishment for writers.  Feed it.  Let it grow.  Nourish the reader.

III - Thou shalt not waste thine words or thy reader's time.
Don't over-describe.  Don't capture the mundane.  Make every page count and every word serve a purpose.

IV - Remember thy plot lines and keep them true.
Plot begins with the story.  The plot is a promise.  To write the story is to promise the reader a satisfying and fulfilling conclusion.  Don't forget the promise.  And don't betray the reader's trust.

V - Honor thy grammar and thy punctuation that thy writing might endure.
Don't confuse your readers.  Engage them.  Challenge them.  Make them work at guessing what comes next, not what they just read.  They want to accompany you on the journey.  Let them.

VI - Thou shalt not kill thine characters without purpose.
Nothing in fiction should be senseless.  Everything must have purpose.  If you don't know why your fictional event happened then your readers won't know either.

VII - Thou shalt remain faithful to the readers of thine words.
Make promises to your readers and fulfill every one of them.  Promise them the world and deliver it.  Entice them.  Satisfy them.

VIII - Thou shalt not plagiarize nor cite without credit.
The wise learn from others.  And the wise credit those from whom they've learned.

IX - Thou shalt not write fiction without researching facts.
If your protagonist lives in the Ozarks, he cannot look through his window and see the Gulf of Mexico's gentle waves lapping the coastline. 

X - Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's success.
Words are free.  The experiences they convey can be priceless.  Crafting those experiences comes at a cost.  Revel in the success of your peers as you would have them revel in yours.


There are, of course, many more commandments that my muse whispers while I write.  This post only had room for ten.