The pirate captain Barbossa explains that the code is 'more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules', suggesting a degree of self-interested flexibility that writers could do well to adopt.
In contrast, much of online writing advice is 'you must' or 'you must never'. Which is fine… until you realise that the great writers break those rules all the time.
After a little reflection, you can resolve the contradiction by realising that that you need a full set of writing tools, so there's no point in throwing half of them away before you start.
In fact, most of the things forbidden are useful, even essential, at various points in your writing. Telling is far more economical than Showing, so if you Show and don't (ever) Tell, your writing will be bloated and ponderous.
And there are times when use of the Passive Voice is a necessity, when your infinitives should be split and even (though this is a very rare thing indeed) when your fabulous fantasy trilogy would benefit from a Prologue!
If you use the Passive Voice when it's not needed, your prose will sound weak and you will rob your characters of agency.
If you Tell when it's better to Show, you will miss the opportunity to immerse your reader deeper into the story and you may even drift into dull exposition.
And most people's idea of a Prologue is to grab the most exciting scene of the book and slap it the front, out of all context, where it lies flaccid and exposed, robbed of any impact. Sigh.
So, the cunning art of fiction is to know what options you have to write a section of prose, to understand what effects each option will have on the reader's experience of that encountering that section, to know what you want them to feel at that point and then to deftly use the right technique.
And the good thing about that is that it works even if you're not a pirate!
I'm launching a series of short posts about fiction writing to mark the launch of my coaching business at Porteous-StoryDoctor.com. I hope you find them interesting!
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Have you ever wondered why dancers practice in front of the mirror? It's not just vanity—they need to see their performance from the viewpoint of the audience. However, while the feedback you get from reflection (see what I did there?) is a necessary start, it's not sufficient.
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