I had a great afternoon doing online picture book critiques yesterday for SCBWI Florida. A lovely and talented bunch. One thing that came up several times was “The Rules of Threes.” Some thoughts on this:

For those who don’t know it, it’s a picture book writing theory where every should happen in threes. Protagonist’s quandaries: share three of them. Attempts to solve issue: show three of them. I see it several times a day in submissions, and I have concerns:

First, anything called a “Rule” should stay far away from the creative process, in my opinion. Who likes rules? No one.

Also? I’ve been an editor for 26 years and I promise you no editor has ever asked for rules. We have preferences, for sure, best practices, yes, but I’ve never heard an editor say, “If only this manuscript showed everything three times.” It’s not a thing.

The reasons it bugs me: 1. No one should ever tell you what you must do, other than that you must tell a great story. 2. Hearing things in threes has a way of making a work sound monotonous. 3. If everyone follows this rule, everyone’s stories sound the same.

Now, I’d NEVER make a “Rule” against this rule! One story I read yesterday followed it and was charming and sure to be published. And I’ve published very successful books that follow this rule. Not because they followed a rule but because they were awesome stories!

If you feel comfortable with this rule, totally fine! You can maybe try mixing things up a bit to see how it works if you deviate a bit. Give it a try! Play a bit!

Also, some editors might even enjoy this rule, and that’s also fine. This is just my pet peeve. But, I can’t imagine any editor saying you MUST follow any formula to your writing. When an agent asks “What are you looking for?”, no one ever says “Something that follows the rules.”

Also, we’re editors! We edit! If a story is strong but not perfect, we’ll get it there. It’s our job! If your word count (don’t even get me started) is too long, we’ll help you cut it down. No worries!Your job is to enchant us. So, free yourself . . . and write!