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I decided to write a novel and followed all the rules. Are rules made to be broken? Help! What am I missing?

Do the already published authors NOT have to follow any of the rules? As a 1st timer, before attempting to write my story, I read all of the Do's & Don't of good writing. And, I also decided to read 4 novels (close to what I was attempting) to get a feel of how to present my story. But I was surprised that ALL 4 of the authors broke many of the rules. On top of that, 2 of the books, one which made Oprah's Book Club list, were so poorly crafted that I found it really hard to finish. One took me through 107 pages of mindless babble and never matched or lived up to the title of the book. What's up with that, by the way?

Public Comments

1. In novel writing, few rules are set in stone. About the only rules you should not break are that of grammar (excluding dialogue, as some people don't speak grammatically correct) and spelling. After that, it's up to the author what they choose to do with their story and how they write it.
2. Well the title of the book will sometimes have a deeper meaning that what the book seems to initially be about so you might want to rethink that. There are no rules when it comes to writing your own story. People write books telling you what to do and what not to do in order to make money. Do what you please, and what works best for you, and if the story you want to get across is good and relevant to how you're telling it without crossing moral boundaries then you should be fine.
3. Go with your gut. Rules can be broken if they are broken in a way that adds to the story.
4. Who exactly gave you rules? There are no rules in English, only guidelines and common usages.
5. There are no such things as rules in writing. Sure there are do's and don'ts, but those are only guidelines; if the tips are obvious, then stick to them - if you want to deviate and have good reason to, then go ahead. There is no difference between published and unpublished authors regarding their writing (well, yes there is, but in regards to the rules...) - they got published because the book was interesting and marketable.
6. It is easy to become overwhelmed with too much information when it comes to the supposed dos and don'ts of fiction writing. I've read book after book, attended course after course, and come out the other end no better off creatively. There are six things you can do: Read read read Write write write Expand your imaginative mind through reading, and your creative voice through writing. You will get there if you really want to.
7. There are no rules, and there is no set formula. At best, books on writing (among which the "Do's and Don't of Good Writing" is not foremost) can give you things to consider. Implementing those ideas, however, are up to you; you can do it well or poorly. A better book would be Stephen King's "On Writing." Orson Scott Card's book on writing is also well respected by published authors.
8. a writer once said "you must first know the rules befor you can break them" ; but thats not what the other people are saying so i dont no i to am trying to learn thats how i found this quote
9. Despite what the world (of television watchers) at large believe, Oprah is not a literary guru. She recommends books that she and her staff 'like'. --- When I took my first grammer class (in college) the first thing we were told about 'creative writing' (as I was an English major), was that 'in order to break the rules you should first know the rules'. -- Writing is an art just like drawing and painting. If you do it well the works flaws can actually be overlooked and accepted as 'author style'. I happen to write 'overly descriptive' and yet I do have a reader base. Some people like the purple prose and matrix like descriptions. Some readers hate it. I cut out some of that in my second novel and my readers sent notes (as well as reviews) that said they 'noticed' it and didn't like it as much. The book came out 'choppy' and 'skipped around' and my readers noticed. (I thought that was very cool, they also blamed the editor which, though not fair, was also very cool.) --- Base your work on your favorite authors, even if they aren't within your genre. Look at their styles and how they handle dialogue and description. How they set scenes and tone. You as a writer can apply 'conventions' even if it isn't the same type of writing. --- Keep in mind when you opt to break the rules, know WHY you are doing it. Make sure it helps your story with a feel of some type, maybe it gives your writing a uniqueness that readers will like. This can also backfire in that it can alienate more picky readers. Write what you like to read and the way you like to read it.
10. 'The only rules are what a man can do and what he can't, savey mate?' -Jack Sparrow The 'rules' are simply similarities found in several books written in the past that several authors seemed to have. These days, every story that is put out in print either breaks rules or completely rewrites them. The rules that applied back then no longer have a foot hold in modern writing, unless were are talking grammer. The best advice I can give about writing stories? Let the characters tell it. They're the ones that know it. By subjecting them to laws and rules, you are boxing your characters in and are preventing and potential that the characters would ever have to grow. Rules wre made to be broken, especially in the creative/artistic world. The rules are there to keep up safe as fledglings, but as we grow older and more experianced we get in our trade, the more rules need to be broken in order for an original voice to develope. So as Elizabeth Swann so delicately put it- 'Forget the rules! They're more like guide lines anyway!'