The four rules to my writing.

I remember overhearing a conversation in a bookstore once talking about a recent big hit. The reader replied to their friend that they had absolutely no interest in reading anything that contained that sort of content. They only wanted clean writing and commented about the difficulty it is to find more mature writing without being vulgar, gory, or sexual.

This is why I came up this this saying.

"If you are creative enough you can write around anything but cause and effect have to lead the story."

---

This has my belief throughout my writing journey and as I get older, my writing becomes more mature and refined. When I look back at where I started I can't believe how much it's grown in style.

---

My Four Rules for writing

1. No Swearing

2. No Sex Scenes

3. No Supernatural events, Ghosts, Demons, etc.

4. No Violence

I remember walking into Chapters years ago looking for clean content. Approaching an employee our request was, "Do you have any clean YA; No sex, violence or supernatural elements. We ultimately stumped the employee as they went out looking for suggestions. The only suggestion that ended up being offered was an adult murder mystery by Alberta author Dave Hugelschaffer.

While his book's are enjoyable with an amazing writing style that excels in world building and journeying the life of fire fighting. It's not entirely what I was looking for.

There are a number of YA's on my to read shelf that I'm looking forward to reading someday I have noticed that even skimming through those there is more mature content in between the pages and it makes me wonder why? In these last couple years more content has been pumped out through the media that is making younger content older. YA pushing for more sex. I am still under the belief that Teens are still children. While given more responsibility in this transitioning into adulthood there are things that should not be in their reach. YA is becoming more Adult and mid-grade seems to be becoming more YA in content. I personally don't agree with sex in YA. The only argument I can see and do understand is, because sex is something that's been pushed on ten-year-old's and older. (if not even younger) and it's something they are dealing with in this age. For me it comes with a single question. If reading about a thirteen year old's is appropriate is it then appropriate to have underage actors reenact it on film? This is why I draw the line. If it wrong to watch it, why do you want to picture or imagine it?

---

Under The Shield is the first title in an Adult trilogy I've been working on and it's the most mature story I've ever written. (Which isn't saying much considering, it's contenders are The Silent Reality and our Eat At Your Own Risk cookbook. Regardless of this fact the four rules that I've applied to my own writing are for two simple reasons.

1. My writing follows my own moral code. Like swearing. Swearing isn't in my standard vocabulary so why should I have it in my work? It also would bring contradiction between who I am and what I write. (Also to this point as the author I'll be reading excerpts publicly. As someone that actively avoids swearing I'd end up at in impasse if the scene has that special four letter word.)

   
   

2. I want to keep it clean, so it can be read openly, formally, and in family friendly locations. If I'd be embarrassed to have my mother to read it openly why give it out to strangers?

With Under The Shield nearing completion I feel like I'm fully realizing what I'm capable of creating while keeping the content clean.

For anyone that may not know I'm believe the bible and strongly against dabbling in the supernatural and witchcraft. I have no interest in tapping into, dabbling, and provoking the spiritual realm in ways apart from obedience in the bible. With that I'm not meditating on how wickedness of evil will flow in the story nor am I making projections of the supposed view of what these spiritual beings look like.

---

The one little change to the rule

While I am only one author, I am here to bring back clean content. Back when I was about 16 when I implemented these rules. Rule Number 4 was simply, No Violence.

Under the Shield has made me challenge this blatant rule. with quite frankly a very simple question.

"What is violence?"

That question put a moral conundrum into my writing of how to balance and subvert this rule. I had no choice I had revise this rule as Under The Shield in all tense and purposes has violence. Punches are being thrown guns are drawn. One very specific scene in Under The Shield comes to mind where this early rule made the restricted sound abjectly worse.

In the Smithson Residence flashback Josh is asking Steven for permission to propose to his daughter Valerie. In an early version Steven never motioned to the shotgun on the wall. Instead Steven threatened that if he hurts Valerie falling off a horse would be the least of his worries.

At the time the in my mind the threat was a creative way to have a "clean" threat. I was quite young and hadn't found that pulse for an edgy story yet. As the years passed and my writing matured I found the rule too restrictive for what this story needed. I changed rule no. 4 to Excessive Violence and Gore. Because of this one change Under The Shield has become what I picture it being back when I was a teenager working out the details of the story.

The risks now feel more real, the consequences all the more impactful and the heartache all the more relatable and the risks all the more nerve-racking and even opened up possibilities while not trying to be too traumatizing.

Thank you for your time Chance Hansen Keep Smiling