Never begin a sentence with a coordinating conjunction. Never end a sentence with a preposition. Never write a book based on current trends. Never continue to work on a story that isn’t working. Never ignore the fundamental basics of good story writing: grammar, spelling, punctuation, character and plot development, compelling content, good flow, realistic dialogue, etc. Never try to emulate someone else’s style. Never use clichés. Never start a story with dialogue, weather, excessive narrative or description, a dream, a ringing alarm or cell phone, a prologue, backstory, an information dump, lots of telling and no showing, and the prohibitions go on and on. Yikes! I’ve already opted to mop the kitchen floor on my hands and knees instead of write—and I have a bad knee. Wait! Exceptions exist to every rule, right? Make that almost every rule. (Don’t try defying gravity unless you have a parachute.) Back to books. Starting a sentence with a coordinating conjunctio...

I have several shelves of reference books in my writing library. All came highly recommended, most have gone unread. Books on writing (character development, plot development, the art of storytelling...), books on editing, books on the business of writing (query letters, synopses, finding an agent, finding a publisher, etc., etc.), books on marketing. They used to mock me from across the room. "Stop typing," they'd shout. "You can't write a decent story until you've read us." There was a time when I caught myself using these books as an excuse to not write. I told myself I needed to learn more, read one more book, take one more class. But that approach didn't get words on the page. That's why those books are on a bookshelf on the other side of the room. I've taped a sheet of paper to the front of the bookcase to remind me not to fall into that trap again. That sheet of paper contains Heinlein's Rules of writing: 1) You Must Write 2) Finis...