--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A good ground rule for writing in any…" description: "\"A good ground rule for writing in any genre is, start with a form, then undermine its confidence in itself. Ask what it's afraid of, what it's trying t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcb/m-john-harrison-15805_afraid_a-good-ground-rule-for-writing-in-any-ge_529756.jpg" --- # A good ground rule for writing in any genre is, start with… ![“A good ground rule for writing in any genre is, start with a form, then undermine its confidence in itself. Ask what it's afraid of, what it's trying to hide - then write that.” quote by M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcb/m-john-harrison-15805_afraid_a-good-ground-rule-for-writing-in-any-ge_529756.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcb/m-john-harrison-15805_afraid_a-good-ground-rule-for-writing-in-any-ge_529756.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcb/m-john-harrison-15805_afraid_a-good-ground-rule-for-writing-in-any-ge_529756.jpg) > “A good ground rule for writing in any genre is, start with a form, then undermine its confidence in itself. Ask what it's afraid of, what it's trying to hide - then write that.” [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A writing rule: begin with a genre’s form, then question its assumptions, exposing hidden fears. **In simple terms:** Start with a form, then challenge its confidence. Key Takeaway Question genre conventions. Themes creative writing genre theory self‑reflection Mood experimental analytical Type literary instructional When to use this quote - novel drafting - scriptwriting - genre subversion Key Concepts narrative structure psychology of fear Questions to Reflect On - How does exposing a form’s fear improve storytelling? - When is it better to embrace a genre’s conventions? A Different Perspective Might lead to incoherent work if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid/) [Any](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/any/) [Ask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ask/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Genre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genre/) [Genre Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genre-start-4453739/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ground/) [Hide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hide/) [Itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/itself/) [Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule/) [Rule Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule-writing-2004741/) [Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start/) [Then](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/then/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Undermine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undermine/) [Undermine Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undermine-confidence-1395906/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Genre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-genre-1978193/) ## Related quotes > [When you're expected to win and you have the press saying that you are going to win the Olympic gold medal, and you're the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-hamilton/when-you-re-expected-to-win-and-you-have-the-press-saying-that-you/) [Scott Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-hamilton/) > [I think that many things that go on in an art school have a tendency to undermine confidence, and that shouldn't be part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/i-think-that-many-things-that-go-on-in-an-art-school-have-a-tendency/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [“What we often forget is that most everyone else has dealt with the same struggles and uncertainties. You get to pick your response when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/what-we-often-forget-is-that-most-everyone-else-has-dealt-with-the/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [I made up my mind long ago to follow one cardinal rule in all my writing — to be clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-made-up-my-mind-long-ago-to-follow-one-cardinal-rule-in-all-my/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Rules such as "Write what you know," and "Show, don't tell," while doubtlessly grounded in good sense, can be ignored with impunity by any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/rules-such-as-write-what-you-know-and-show-don-t-tell-while/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [As a general rule, writing is very inconvenient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/as-a-general-rule-writing-is-very-inconvenient/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) > [“There's only one absolute rule in writing: None of us gets it right the first time. Revise, reverse, reinvent, re-vision.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-yolen/there-s-only-one-absolute-rule-in-writing-none-of-us-gets-it-right/) [Jane Yolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-yolen/) > [There's a rule of writing: if everything is funny, nothing is funny; if everything is sad, nothing is sad. You want that contrast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-michael-straczynski/there-s-a-rule-of-writing-if-everything-is-funny-nothing-is-funny-if/) [J. Michael Straczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-michael-straczynski/) > [ The basic rule \[of writing\] given us was simple and heartbreaking. A story to be effective had to convey something from the writer to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-basic-rule-of-writing-given-us-was-simple-and-heartbreaking-a/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [The only rule I have when writing is to try to tell the truth. 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(That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-main-rule-of-writing-is-that-if-you-do-it-with-enough-assurance/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Right now in American writing there is no genre as exciting as memoir - the writer can do anything, as long as it works.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-swofford/right-now-in-american-writing-there-is-no-genre-as-exciting-as-memoir/) [Anthony Swofford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-swofford/) > [It's easy to get stuck in a rut when you're writing in one genre for too long. So, when you've been writing for science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-mccreary/it-s-easy-to-get-stuck-in-a-rut-when-you-re-writing-in-one-genre-for/) [Bear McCreary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-mccreary/) > [I think that's what good writing is all about. You go into a genre to talk about other things. 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John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [Everyone loves a mysterious country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/everyone-loves-a-mysterious-country/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [“As they moved from exhibit to exhibit like reluctant tourists in some artist's studio, Buffin sat on a stool with his limbs tense. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/as-they-moved-from-exhibit-to-exhibit-like-reluctant-tourists-in-some/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [“He ran toward the light. When he passed the corpse of his dead friend, he began to weep again. He picked up his sword.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/he-ran-toward-the-light-when-he-passed-the-corpse-of-his-dead-friend/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [“Some internal process held him rapt. He had begun, perhaps, to map the paths inside himself which led to the Past. This gave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/some-internal-process-held-him-rapt-he-had-begun-perhaps-to-map-the/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [Budapest is a prime site for dreams: the East’s exuberant vision of the West, the West’s uneasy hallucination of the East. It is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/budapest-is-a-prime-site-for-dreams-the-east-s-exuberant-vision-of/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [Writing's like gambling. Unpredictable and sporadic successes make you more addicted, not less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/writing-s-like-gambling-unpredictable-and-sporadic-successes-make-you/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [“You can't cure people of their character,' she read. After this he had crossed something out then gone on, 'You can't even change yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/you-can-t-cure-people-of-their-character-she-read-after-this-he-had/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [“When the landed gentry cut up a seed cake for tea it makes no difference to the cake which of them holds the knife;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/when-the-landed-gentry-cut-up-a-seed-cake-for-tea-it-makes-no/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [Egnaro is a secret known to everyone but yourself. It is a country or a city to which you have never been; it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/egnaro-is-a-secret-known-to-everyone-but-yourself-it-is-a-country-or/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [“Write something about me then,' he said when I came back. He grinned. 'Go on! Now! I bet you can!' 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John Harrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) ## More Afraid quotes > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [I used to be afraid of my temper, but it turns out I don't really have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-bell/i-used-to-be-afraid-of-my-temper-but-it-turns-out-i-don-t-really-have/) [Zoe Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-bell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm a pretty fearless person. I'm afraid of, like, creepy men in white vans and sidewalks with no streetlights. But I'm not afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-totah/i-m-a-pretty-fearless-person-i-m-afraid-of-like-creepy-men-in-white/) [Josie Totah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-totah/) > [I will support my party when they are right on an issue, but am not afraid to stand up to party bosses who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-senger/i-will-support-my-party-when-they-are-right-on-an-issue-but-am-not/) [Darlene Senger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darlene-senger/) > [Why am I so afraid to loose you,when you're not even mine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-am-i-so-afraid-to-loose-you-when-you-re-not-even-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to tell you, but I cant, becuase I'm afraid if I do you'll never treat me same the again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-orante/i-want-to-tell-you-but-i-cant-becuase-i-m-afraid-if-i-do-you-ll-never/) [Cristina Orante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-orante/) > [Mistakes I've made in the past make me afraid to try new things in the future. I want to be perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/mistakes-i-ve-made-in-the-past-make-me-afraid-to-try-new-things-in/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [“Humans are naturally scared and confused beings. They not only fear the unknown, as they live fearing themselves... ☥”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-marques/humans-are-naturally-scared-and-confused-beings-they-not-only-fear/) [Luis Marques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-marques/) > [If you are too afraid of failure, you cant possibly do what needs to be done to succeed in living a fulfilling life. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/if-you-are-too-afraid-of-failure-you-cant-possibly-do-what-needs-to/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [We cannot be afraid of the dark that they live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burnie-burns/we-cannot-be-afraid-of-the-dark-that-they-live-in/) [Burnie Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burnie-burns/) > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I'm still with that feeling that I am afraid of doing the wrong thing, because somebody is going to punish me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/i-m-still-with-that-feeling-that-i-am-afraid-of-doing-the-wrong-thing/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) [Browse all 5,519 Afraid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A good ground rule for writing in any genre is, start with a form, then undermine its confidence in itself. 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