My Rules:

1) The general form of the sculpture should be simple, (for example one loop around the outline) the details added to this form are loops that end near where they start without altering the basic form. Some of my standard forms are 1) outline 2) spiral 3) outline followed by a second pass under the body  towards the tail (to give 4 legs) 4) zigzag. (used in 2D, create the sculpture by going back and fourth top to bottom like a printer) Keep the wire as short as possible, finish a section, then move on, don't waste wire jumping all around.

2) Do the detailed parts first, when the wire is short, and you have the most control.

3) Minimize attachments, wire looping around itself distracts from the forms you are trying to make, it makes the sculpture hard to adjust later, my attachments tend to slip.   

4) Use thick wire, make the sculpture small use Pliers with grip. I use 16 gage wire, and keep the sculptures about the size of my hand. this way they don't move to much while I am making them. I don't need attachments to keep them stable. If the wire is too thin or the sculpture to large it will sag and wiggle. The finished product may behave like an oversized blob of Jell-O.

5) With each bend, hold the wire on the coil side, and let the sculpture move when you make the bend. Don't hold the sculpture and make the coil side try to move as you make the bend. It will be difficult and frustrating to try to get a grip on the sculpture and the coil will pull on the coil side of the wire and cause problems.  

6) My preferred posture is with the pliers under the sculpture pointing towards my head and the bends I make are done by rotating the pliers while they still point towards me the wire feeds in from the left (I'm right handed). this pose lets me see my work and I don't need to move elbows much. One thing I avoid is trying to bend the wire towards or away from the tips of the pliers because the wire tends to slip and greater force is required to prevent this. I bend the wire in the direction around the jaws.

7) Rules are made to be broken.