The Three Rules No One Knows: Embracing the Mystery of Novel Writing
by Olivia Salter
“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”
— W. Somerset Maugham
Writers love rules.
We search for them in craft books, writing workshops, interviews with bestselling authors, and late-night internet rabbit holes. Somewhere, we believe, there must be a secret formula—a blueprint that guarantees a great novel.
Yet Maugham’s famously ironic quote cuts through this illusion with a single line of wisdom: if the rules exist, no one actually knows them.
At first glance, that might seem frustrating. But for fiction writers, it is also profoundly liberating.
Because the absence of fixed rules is exactly what makes fiction an art.
The Myth of the Perfect Formula
Many aspiring novelists begin their journey hoping for certainty. They want to know:
- How many plot points should a novel have?
- How many characters are too many?
- What is the exact structure of a compelling story?
- How long should a chapter be?
You can find endless advice on these questions. Three-act structure. Five-act structure. The hero’s journey. Save the Cat beats.
These frameworks are useful tools. They help writers understand how stories function.
But they are not rules.
If they were, every novel written with them would be brilliant—and every novel written without them would fail.
History proves the opposite.
Great Novels Break the “Rules”
Some of the most celebrated novels ever written violate common writing advice.
A few examples:
- Stories with unconventional structures
- Narratives with unreliable narrators
- Books with minimal plot but deep emotional resonance
- Novels that shift point of view, tense, or timeline
What works in fiction is not obedience to rules—it’s effectiveness.
A story succeeds when it creates an emotional experience for the reader.
If it does that, the “rules” become secondary.
The Hidden Truth Behind Maugham’s Quote
When Maugham joked that no one knows the three rules of writing a novel, he was pointing to a deeper truth:
Every novel invents its own rules.
Each story has its own internal logic.
A quiet literary novel may rely on atmosphere and introspection.
A thriller may rely on relentless pacing and escalating stakes.
A romance may hinge on emotional tension between two characters.
The techniques that make one story powerful might weaken another.
In other words, fiction writing is less like following a recipe and more like composing music.
What Actually Matters in Novel Writing
Even though there are no universal rules, there are recurring principles that great fiction often shares.
1. Emotional Truth
Readers connect to stories that feel emotionally authentic.
Whether you’re writing romance, horror, or literary fiction, characters must feel like real human beings—flawed, conflicted, and driven by recognizable desires.
Without emotional truth, even the most technically perfect story falls flat.
2. Meaningful Conflict
Conflict is the engine of narrative.
Characters want something.
Something stands in their way.
That tension drives the story forward.
Without conflict, there is no momentum, no suspense, and no reason for the reader to keep turning the page.
3. Transformation
A powerful novel changes something.
A character grows.
A belief shatters.
A truth is revealed.
Stories resonate when the journey alters the characters—or the reader.
The Freedom of Not Knowing
For writers, Maugham’s quote offers something rare: permission.
Permission to experiment.
Permission to fail.
Permission to invent.
Every novelist must discover their own process.
Some outline meticulously.
Others write by intuition.
Some revise endlessly.
Others draft quickly and refine later.
No single method works for everyone.
The writer’s task is not to follow hidden rules.
It is to discover what works for their story.
The Real Three Rules (If They Exist)
If we were forced to guess what the mysterious “three rules” might be, they might look something like this:
- Write the story only you can write.
- Make the reader feel something.
- Finish the novel.
The last rule may be the most important. Many people start novels. Far fewer finish them.
Completion turns imagination into art.
The Courage to Write Anyway
Fiction writing will always contain uncertainty. No algorithm guarantees a masterpiece.
But that uncertainty is not a weakness of storytelling—it is its power.
Every novel is an act of discovery.
And perhaps that’s why Maugham’s quote continues to resonate with writers today.
Because in the end, the real rule of novel writing may simply be this:
There are no rules—only stories waiting to be told.
