“Anxious, inexperienced writers obey rules. Rebellious, unschooled writers break the rules. Artists master the form.”

-Robert McKee, author of “Story”

I have long been a proponent of teaching fundamentals rather than techniques. This is true regardless of the endeavor, whether it is for improv comedy, martial arts, communication, sales, or straight-up motivation. The quote from Robert McKee’s excellent book on screenplay writing, “Story,” sums it up well.

In writing, people who are unskilled or don’t have much experience tend to stay rigidly within the confines of what they “should” do. People who want to be different or who never bothered to learn the craft assume that the rules are for beginners (even though they really are one) and break the rules and do whatever they want. The truly great writers learn the underlying form (or fundamentals) of writing. They realize that rules are just an extension of the form; they are neither resolute things that must be confirmed too nor evil things that diminish the work.

Another quote from McKee: “A rule says, ‘you must do it this way.’ A principle says, ‘This works…and has through all remembered time.’”

You may never try to write a screenplay, but the difference between rules and principles applies to any situation. The way to true success is to master the form and principles, not the rules.

The challenge is that you must first learn the principles, and one way to do this is to master the rules! Rules are usually created as a way to get people to follow principles, but somewhere along the way the principle gets forgotten and people only remember the rules.

For example, there is an improv comedy game called “freeze tag.” In this exercise two performers start improvising a scene and at any point one of the other players can yell “freeze!” The actors in the scene hold their positions and the person who called out “freeze” replaces one of them and starts a brand new scene. The game should be fast and high energy with the scenes switching fairly quickly.

Unfortunately, performers sometimes let themselves get blocked up and let the scenes drag on too long before yelling “freeze.” To counter this, many improv groups created a rule that says once three lines have been spoken in the current scene, someone should say “freeze.” This rule comes out of the principle that the game works best when the scenes start and switch rapidly.

I have seen this become a problem though, when performers fixate on the three line rule. Three lines may not always the best time to freeze the action. Sometimes it may be after 2 lines, sometimes it may be after 5 or 6. When a performer focuses on the rule and not the principle, the work suffers.

As McKee says in the opening quote, it is the inexperienced and anxious who slavishly adhere to rules. You have seen this out in the world: the customer service rep who forces you to follow a ridiculous and inconvenient rule. The sales rep who fixates on saying their sales script. The corporation that bans any personal items in cubicles to promote “unity.”

On the other hand, you may find the person that breaks the rules because they think that they don’t need them. The person who never takes a class because, “I am good, and there’s nothing I’ll learn in the class that I don’t know.” The employee who has a specific way of doing things and doesn’t think they need to learn a new way.

Focusing on principles and fundamentals is not the same as never learning the rules or arbitrarily breaking them. Mastering the form is about knowing what the rules are, but more importantly understanding why they exist and what the ultimate goal is.

This works outside of the professional environment as well. In relationships, many of us create “rules” that let us know that the relationship is working. “They must call me everyday,” “We must see each other X number of times,” “If they say this it means that,” etc. Those rules may be comforting, but without understanding the underlying principles of what leads to a strong relationship, those rules may end up causing as many problems as they are supposed to prevent.

Take a look at anything in your own life that you are trying to succeed at. Whether it’s professional (your job or business), personal (an activity or hobby you are trying to excel at) or interpersonal (a relationship with a friend or loved one), the concept applies: use the rules as a guideline but identify and focus on the principles. Master the fundamentals and form and everything else will fall into place.