by Ane Mulligan  @AneMulligan

When I was a new writer, I learned the writing “rules” and adhered to them, preached them like a religious zealot to anyone who asked. I lived and breathed RULES.

Fortunately, as I grew in my craft, I learned there are times to break the rules (which are really guidelines to good writing). But I always say, if you’re going to break the rules, do it with panache. Make it count.

One “rule” I picked up and cling to is the RULE of THREE. This is a powerful technique or principle for writing (or speaking, for that matter). When ideas, thoughts, events, characters, or sentences are presented in threes, they are more effective and memorable.

From a WIP I’m working on:

A crash explodes from the main stage, followed by a string of muffled words—cursing if I know the gaffers striking the set. I jump up from my desk and open the window that overlooks the theatre and stage. I cringe, hoping Cruella de Vil didn’t hear it. Work lights illuminate the stage, and the battens are down … and so is Mitch. Before I can ask if he’s hurt, Cruella screeches from her office door across the hall from mine.

Yup, she can hear a pin drop at thirty yards. She hears a breeze before the trees rustle. She hears through walls.

The last sentence is the example of threes. Would it work with one? Sure, but it isn’t as good as with all three.

Here’s another way Threes are used:

The office is decidedly dull. A utilitarian desk, recycled sofa, and worn chairs testify the money goes into student programing and not the director’s comfort.

Again, one example would have worked, but using three gives a more impactful visual of the office, leaving an image the reader doesn’t forget.

Even when your character is looking through her makeup drawer, the Rule of Threes works better than a single item.

Where did I put that eyeliner? I push aside an old lipstick, a dried up mascara, and a broken eyeshadow brush. I’ve got to clean out this drawer.

What are your favorite uses of Threes? Do tell!

Ane Mulligan lives life from a director’s chair, both in theatre and at her desk, creating novels. Entranced with story by age three, at five, she saw PETER PAN onstage and was struck with a fever from which she never recovered—stage fever. One day, her passions collided, and an award-winning, bestselling novelist emerged. She believes chocolate and coffee are two of the four major food groups and lives in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and a rascally Rottweiler. Find Ane on her website, Amazon Author page, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, The Write Conversation, and Blue Ridge Conference Blog.