Ten Rules To Write Noir by Paul D Brazill

Rules One to Ten, All Inclusive.

‘Whichever I Choose It Amounts To The Same. Absolutely nothing.’ Killing An Arab –The Cure

It doesn't matter.

At the close of what is easily Stanley Kubrick’s best film, The Killing, Sterling Hayden sees all the loot that he’s criminally grafted for, literally, gone with the wind. The cops are closing in but he still has time to get away. But, instead of doing a runner, he just shrugs his shoulders and says ‘What does it matter, anyway?’ Because he knows it doesn’t matter.

This is noir.

It doesn't matter.

It doesn’t matter if you’re influenced by Jim Thompson or The Thompson Twins.

It doesn’t matter if you drink whisky or Evian.

It doesn't matter if you’ve lived the life or lived a lie.

It doesn’t matter if you reflect the times you live in or echo the voices in your head.

It doesn't matter if no one understands you or if you’re in touch with the Zeitgeist.

It doesn’t matter if your muse is holding a gun to your head or you just want to pay the bills.

It doesn’t matter if everyone loves your writing or no one cares.

It doesn’t matter if you actually write the thing or go to the pub and play darts instead.

It doesn’t matter because the world will keep on turning whether you do or don’t. No one will die. The world won’t end. Cancer won’t be cured. Donald Trump will still have crap hair.

It just doesn’t matter.

Get my drift, Grasshopper?

Good.

Then write it anyway