This is my last post at Romantic Inks, and I wanted to say thanks to all the Inkers for making me so welcome. It’s been fun hanging out here - no doubt you’ll see me flitting in and out once I return from my holiday.

When I first started writing, I learned there were specific rules to follow. This puzzled me because I couldn’t find a definitive list of these rules anywhere, yet fellow writers and contest judges were quick to fill me in.

No Rock Stars: I learned this one after I’d completed a story called Follow That Dream. I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t have a rock star hero. No sports settings. Hmm, I had one of those, too. Evidently there are several occupations on the no-no list. Politicians and artists, please step this way.

The hero and heroine should meet in the first few pages. This one made a little more sense if the book was a short story or category romance, because we want the hero and heroine center stage. But what about a 100,000 word novel? Surely it wouldn’t matter if they didn’t meet straight away?

The hero and heroines shouldn’t be deformed in any way. One of my favorite reads is A Man Like Mac by Fay Robinson. The hero is confined to a wheelchair. Heck, I have scars – not in-your-face scars, it’s true, but they’re there. Did this mean a character like me couldn’t step between the pages of a book?

Everyone has to write alpha heroes. I love alpha heroes, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like a beta hero. The beta hero might be less obvious, but that doesn’t mean he’s any less “heroic”. Variety is good, right?

There should be only one point of view per scene or chapter. Hello! Can I say Nora Roberts? Also, if you’ve read my books, you’ll know the POV character doesn’t follow this rule. You should only use the hero and heroine’s POV in your story. Nope, I didn’t follow this rule either.

No foreign settings. I like to thumb my nose at this one. New Zealand is not a foreign country! I love to read books set in different countries. It follows that I’d like to write them as well.

Historicals should only be set in Scotland or Britain. While I enjoy British-set historicals, variety is the spice of life.

Formatting a manuscript – Courier 12 pt with 25 lines per page. I had a judge knock off points in a contest because I put one space between my full stops and the next sentence. Evidently I was meant to put two spaces. I’ve also had a few contest judges who circled was every time I used it in a sentence. Poor maligned was!

Write what you know – I don’t think so because that would be a very boring story. For me, writing is about learning new things, discovering new occupations and traveling in my imagination. I bet there are other writers like me who enjoy writing about things and places they’re not familiar with. That’s why there are so many articles about research for writers.

At conferences, I’ve heard authors ask editors and agents what sort of book they’re looking for. The answer is usually the same: a good read. They’re not concerned about rules because all they want is a good book.

In the e-pub world just about anything goes. Authors are given the chance to experiment, to combine genres and write about any setting or occupation. Although the same freedom isn’t available with New York publishers, this shouldn’t stop an author from writing the book they want to write. Take a look at the publisher’s submission guidelines and follow their instructions. These are the only rules that matter. Add a little imagination, write the best book you can and submit with confidence.

Have you come up against these writing rules? Are there any I’ve missed?