The Rules of Writing

But first, two girls whom I remember well:



This was taken on my 6th birthday, April 18, 1971, in Marshall, Illinois, despite the fact that the photo says “MAY 71” on the side. Trust me, Mom wrote the actual date on the back.

Debra, age 4 (soon-to-be 5), on the left; Diana, just-turned 6, on the right.

Playing racket sports — go figure!

This picture makes me smile for so many reasons, not the least of which are the highwater pants I am wearing. Though I remember quite clearly that this was my absolute favorite outfit — I believe I felt it had a nautical look or something. And I remember, not long after this, falling down and ripping the knee and basically ruining my favorite outfit ... and somewhere, never-to-be-published, there is a photo of me wearing that snappy shirt and a pair of GREEN pants ... and I recall being very, VERY unhappy about that. (Apparently, Debra ruined her white pants, too, somewhere along the way, as it seems there was also a photo of her wearing her cool shirt and a pair of GOLD pants.)

: (

Now playing: “Lord, Is It Mine?” by Supertramp, off the Breakfast in America CD.

In fact, the albums in the queueueueue for tonight, along with that one, include A Crash Course in Roses by Catie Curtis, The Joshua Tree by U2, World Without Tears by Lucinda Williams, Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan and, possibly, Hymns of the 49th Parallel by k.d. lang. All subject to change, of course, as the mood strikes.

: )

I just broke one of The Rules of Writing, though, when I typed K.D. Lang as “k.d. lang.” That is how she has it listed, lowercased, on her albums and on her Web site and in everything she does ... but she is not e.e. cummings. And even e.e. was a breaker of capitalization rules, obviously.

However, they have both made a helluva lot more money than I ever have with their writing, so who am I to say?

The rule of writing that I am fixated on at the moment is, quite possibly, the most important rule of all. And it occurred to me a little while ago because I have a feeling that someone I know who happens to be a writer (though not a writer of fiction or poetry or anything of that nature or genre or whatever) wrote something not long ago that broke this particular rule:

1. You must write from your heart.

I put a “1.” in front of it because I believe it really is the No. 1 rule in writing.

Have I ever broken this rule? Of course — every time I have written a story that I am not even the least bit interested in writing, I have most likely violated it.

Sometimes, I have been able to fake it; other times, not.

I remember one time, my best pal read an article I had written about an upcoming race, and when she finished, she looked at me and said, “That doesn’t sound like you.”

“What do you mean?”

“That story: There’s nothing to it,” she said. “It doesn’t sound like something you would write.”

I realized, right then, that I would never be able to fake it with this woman.

(Nor would I want to. Heh.)

: )