There are lots of other people writing about writing, so I try not to add to the pile unless I decide something needs to be said. In this case, though, I thought we needed to discuss some ground rules.
Specifically, I’d like to borrow from the great writers in another genre and discuss The Detection Club Rules. They apply to a lot more than just mystery stories, and I urge you all to give them a read. And then, when you write, please try not to break any of them.*
For instance, take #3: “Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.”
Even taken literally, this is reasonably good advice. A castle honeycombed with secret passages sounds cool at first, but sounds like “crashing to the ground due to total structural failure” to anyone who stops and thinks about it for a bit.
Zoom out one or two levels of abstraction, though, and what this rule is really telling you is not to overuse any cool tricks. One level of hidden power of which the reader was only aware through oblique hints? That’ll throw your characters and readers for a loop. Four levels? They’re going to lose some of that suspension of disbelief and start wondering when Frieza will show up.
So check out those rules! Much better writers than I developed them, and we can take advantage of their wisdom.
*Except Rule #5. Please take that in the spirit in which it was intended, not literally. Because it’s pretty racist literally.