Rules for Writing from Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut stands as one of the great American writers.

In the preface to his book, Bagombo Snuff Box he put forth eight rules for writing fiction which he labeled Creative Writing 101.

Here they are:

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things--reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them--in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such a complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

For my writing, the most important advice has been number 3. Every character must want something. This is what creates conflict which leads to the revealing of character.