My take on these wonderful rules
Rule 1: How hard a character tries counts more than his/her success.
I.e. it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all (Bill Shakespeare maybe?).
Rule 2: Make it fun for the reader, not fun for the writer. I.e. keep the reader in mind. I am sometimes guilty of that.
Rule 3: Themes are important, but they often aren’t apparent until the end of the story. Worry about theme on your rewrite.
Rule 4: Once upon a time…Daily…One day…Because of that and that…Finally. A story progression more for cartoons or picture books.
Rule 5: Keep it simple. Maybe even combine characters. If you stumble on something in your story, go around it, come back later(maybe). I heard it as KISS-Keep It Simple, Stupid.
Rule 6: What are your main character’s strengths? Throw the worst at them. Can they handle it? (I always heard it as ruin your POV character’s day)
Rule 7: Figure out the ending then worry about the middle. I’ve been told that at workshops.
Rule 8: Even if it’s not perfect, finish your story. Learn from it. What’s the prefect story look like?
Rule 9: When you get stuck, make a list of what won’t happen next. Hopefully the next step will appear.
Rule 10: Dissect the stories you like. Your story will be a part of you, but you have to understand it before you can write it.Rule 11: Don’t leave a story in your head, get it on paper even if it’s flawed.
Rule 12: Plot twists—don’t use your first idea or the second and so on. Surprise yourself.
Rule 13: Make your character strong, even opinioned, but never wishy-washy. (Charlie Brown had opinionated secondary characters)
Rule 14: Why do you have to tell this particular tale? If you don’t have a reason, maybe you shouldn’t.
Rule 15: You have to experience your POV character’s emotions, feelings etc. as if it’s really you.
Rule 16: Raise the stakes. If the character fails in the middle of the story, raise the stakes anyway.
Rule 17: Don’t throw away manuscripts that don’t work. Someday you find a need for them.
Rule 18: Do your best and don’t worry about failure.
Rule 19: You can use a coincidence to get a character in trouble, but not to solve their problems.
Rule 20: Exercise: Take a story you don’t like. What would you do to make it a good story?
Rule 21: You have to identify with your POV character. You have to understand why they act and say the way they do.
Rule 22: Do you understand the heart of your story? Is your story buried in your manuscript? I.e. have you overwritten?
C. T. Suddeth 