(Should this be moved OPF? That's where most of the general writing discussions have been.)
Anyway, the first question that has to be asked is what the hell that saying even means. I've seen a version that goes more like "No matter how cool something is, if including it will make your story worse, then don't include it." Under this definition, what you're asking seems essentially impossible.
Of course "worse" does not mean the story automatically becomes bad, either. And what's wrong for one story may find a home elsewhere. The extreme example of this would be that book by John Ringo that he wrote to get stuff that would screw up his other stories out of his head, but then people wanted to read it. (Not that there's not argument about how good or bad it is, but "contains the kind of stuff that it was made to be about" is not really a meaningful flaw, and it's not like it's claiming to be highbrow entertainment.)
On the other hand, there's another interpretation that sounds more like "If you really loved writing a scene, delete it." Which sounds like a good way to become a bad writer to me. How often is someone who does that actually going to get published?
Though I also find this somewhat flawed. Great stories regularly break rules, and not breaking rules is no guarantee of a good story.
-Morgan.
Anyway, the first question that has to be asked is what the hell that saying even means. I've seen a version that goes more like "No matter how cool something is, if including it will make your story worse, then don't include it." Under this definition, what you're asking seems essentially impossible.
Of course "worse" does not mean the story automatically becomes bad, either. And what's wrong for one story may find a home elsewhere. The extreme example of this would be that book by John Ringo that he wrote to get stuff that would screw up his other stories out of his head, but then people wanted to read it. (Not that there's not argument about how good or bad it is, but "contains the kind of stuff that it was made to be about" is not really a meaningful flaw, and it's not like it's claiming to be highbrow entertainment.)
On the other hand, there's another interpretation that sounds more like "If you really loved writing a scene, delete it." Which sounds like a good way to become a bad writer to me. How often is someone who does that actually going to get published?
Quote:There are many badfics out there which prove that other rules are there for a reason: If you break them, your story probably sucks.
Though I also find this somewhat flawed. Great stories regularly break rules, and not breaking rules is no guarantee of a good story.
-Morgan.