Write without rules, because you will inevitably (ahem, -ly?) break them. The guidelines you work from are the guidelines that you have adopted from other sources; ones you have chosen to agree with. The ultimate judge of your choices will be your readers.
Never be afraid to veer from your own guidelines, but always try to adhere.
There are three letters that suck the impact right out of a statement; ing. You will often hear me say: If you felt the need to put it in print, don't belittle it with a passive word.
Reaching for the gun, Jordan felt the searing pain of the bullet tearing through his shoulder.
Jordan grabbed his gun just as the bullet tore through his shoulder like a fireball.
Two sentences, same meaning, different emotional impact.
There are times when you may want to use passive passages to dictate the pace, or ambiance, but again, I have to question whether passages such as those really belong. I sometimes feel that such writing is lazy.
When I write a passive phrase, or paragraph, I read it over and over. I ask myself if there is another way to put it. I ask myself if it even belongs in the story. Am I setting the scene with such an aside, am I setting a pace, or have I just constructed an action to stall until I can come up with something better?
Sometimes passive is good, but you always look at it and question if it is the correct method of travel.
My rough drafts are packed with ly's and ing's,as are my emails and posts, it's a quick way to purge the thoughts from my head. This is why I have guidelines. The brain purge that is my rought draft is right next to junk. Guidelines are used to refine that junk.
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