Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 creative writing rules changed how I write stories
Vonnegut’s eight rules have always stuck with me. And If you’ve ever read a Vonnegut novel, you’ll know why.
His writing makes you burst out laughing, cringe at the absurd characters, and sometimes stare into space, wondering “what the hell does this life mean?”
The legendary satirist behind Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five wasn’t just a literary icon: he was a teacher. “You’re in the entertainment business,” he told his students at the University of Iowa. “Your first job is to hook the reader. Your second is to keep them reading.”
Whether you’re writing an elevator pitch to sell your SaaS, a video script, or a sci-fi short story, you’ve probably wrestled with these same questions:
How do you hook the reader? How do you keep them reading?
In this article, we’ll unpack Vonnegut’s eight creative writing rules — which he shared in the preface to Bagombo Snuff Box — and how they’ve helped shape the way I approach storytelling.
TLDR: Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Creative Writing Rules
Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.
Start as close to the end as possible.
Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
The greatest American short story writer of my generation was Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964). She broke practically every one of my rules but the first. Great writers tend to do that.
1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
Reading is a time investment, and your readers should leave with something they didn’t arrive with: feeling different or seeing things in a new light. Sometimes, they might pick up on things you don’t expect. You can only know if this works by getting your writing in front of readers. So keep experimenting, publishing, and sharing.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
Whether the protagonist is your target audience or a cardboard box, we need to follow someone or something through a story. Only then can we, as readers, become emotionally invested — and stick with the character through every challenge they face.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
Desires keep our stories moving. Now, when I edit each sentence within a story, I ask: What does this character want? Sometimes, answering that turns a vague scene that means very little into a clear arc.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.
One of my favourite editing tips — but not to be taken too literally. For example, some descriptions of the setting could support the plot later or reveal something about the character. If you can’t make that argument? Remove it.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
I’ve written numerous short stories where the first few paragraphs were all throat-clearing before the real beginning. Cut the preamble so your reader can be thrown into the mystery of your story and the world it’s set in. Entering a story ‘in media res’ is exciting.
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
Characters need challenges to overcome. And some characters need to die. There’s a reason why Game of Thrones was the biggest show of the 2010s: we empathised with the survivors and “rooted for them” (thank you, rule two). Food for thought: the ‘man in hole’ story arc — when a character overcomes adversity and ends up better off, earns the highest of all movie genres. We all love a redemption arc.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
There’s a common metaphor that publishing writing online is like speaking in an auditorium. But I think that’s bull. Writing is special because it’s one-to-one. While many people can absorb a video, a speech, or a piece of art as a shared experience, it takes time and focus for someone to read a text, and then interpret and imagine it in their own way. Writing is a personal conversation between me and you. And if one person needs your story or message, there are others, just like them, who need it too.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
Suspense is fine, but I’ll throw a book out the window if the ‘mystery character’ is not revealed after three or four chapters. Don’t assume your readers won’t get bored with constant cliffhangers that don’t have a payoff.
Come back when you’re stuck
Which of these rules resonate with you? Personally, I think about (and quote) rule seven very often: Write to please just one person.
After all, I want to connect with you, the reader, by thinking we have similar goals, curiosities, and interests.
And like me, you too are searching for ways to become a better writer that can help not only your habits and confidence on the page, but the quality and energy you commit to every sentence.
Whenever I feel stuck mid-draft or unsure if a piece is working, I return to Vonnegut’s rules.
And if one person also finds value in them, or is now keen to start reading this fantastic writer, than I’ve achieved everything I set out to do.
