The essence of truth cannot be captured by rules.

Some would say Stephen King needs a good editor. Pare that horrific tome down, man!

But that would discount his undeniable success, so there’s something he’s doing that goes beyond rules.

The essence of truth cannot be captured by rules.

If you have a manuscript that is a bit tricky, be it genre-bending or pushing the envelope, know this:

You gotta know the rules before you break them.

Breaking the rules generally works best if you follow most of the rules and get away with breaking one of them. Maybe two.

Because readers still need some structure to steady themselves as they read, the unexpected rule breaker will be a delight.

Just like a riverbank holds the river in place, it may be interesting and cool to see a creek begin to create a new path.

But that same water flooding the plains is unwieldy at best, destructive at worst, and just not fun at all.

If you have an unwieldy manuscript after trying a new idea, let me know. Perhaps a developmental edit or a manuscript assessment is in order.