Some of you might not have used that knowledge immediately but when the time came you remembered those rules of grammar and punctuation and applied it to your writing projects. I admit to picking up a style book early in my writing endeavors because there were lots of things I didn't remember.
And I learned my English teachers had LIED to me. Some of those things they taught me are not rules. They're guidelines. But which ones? How about the rule about never starting a sentence with a conjunction? We do that all the time when we speak or think. Why not when we write?
I'm also going to boldly attack that rule about splitting infinitives. Even Star Trek does it so can it be wrong? We all know the sin of using adverbs in our writing but splitting infinitives with an adverb isn't committing a writing sin. It's a guideline that if followed may improve your writing by making it stronger. But if I can ever write a line as famous as 'to boldly go where no man had gone before,' I'll split that infinitive until the cows come home. (For you non-farmers out there, the cows usually head for home at dusk.)
Were you taught any 'rules' that you later found out were mere guidelines? Do you keep a style book on hand? Do you know when the cows come home?
Don't forget to visit the IWSG site today for some great writing advice. And take the time to visit Anne R. Allen's blog where she has Nathan Bransford guest posting this week. It's a very interesting post.
15 comments:
I have a relative that cannot, and I mean cannot stand any sentence that begins with the word but, or and.
Me, I don't care.
Hope you have a great week, Susan. Cheers and boogie boogie.
I try to remember that a story is about people and people split infinitives, use incomplete sentences, and stutter.
As long as 'writing sins' are used for color and not the end sum of bad habits, it enriches the storytelling.
Incomplete sentences. I've learned those work well in novel writing.
I'd say the rule that adjectives and adverbs are bad. People use them in speech though, so if you leave them out, it reads weird.
Almost anything seems to be able to be used in a certain context, so a lot are just guidelines it seems
I'm with Alex. Those incomplete sentences can really be powerful at times. I like to add them in - maybe too much ;)
I have read that it is always best to KNOW the rules so that you are aware of when you break them. It should be a choice and not an accident. Reading this post makes me think that I should probably pick up a refresher book on what the rules are so that I can differentiate the rules from the guidelines. Thanks!
Hi Susan. Thoughtful post. As a guilty English teacher I agree with you, but...creative writing is very different from writing an essay or academic paper where some of those rules are important to follow slavishly. (I love my adverbs...best way to express myself at times). However, creative writing is meant to break all the 'rules', even guidelines. We can even jiggle with correct spelling through a character's dialogue. What fun is that! And fragmented sentences...I'd hate to read a book without some of them, but doesn't Grammar Checker HATE them.
Have fun writing. I especially enjoy the rule-breaking aspect.
Denise
I once read that you should know the rules so you can break them. And break them we should (did you see what I just did?). I always refer to Elements of Style and sometimes defer to my editors better judgement, but there is nothing wrong with breaking rules if it helps your story.
I remember those "rules" that were more guidelines (for research papers). The one I had the hardest time with was the "do not use contractions" rule. That creates some very stilted dialogue, so in my earlier work, I had to go back in and fix it.
Susan: That is exactly why I wrote 7 Writing Tricks for the Clueless. My system teaches "concepts," rather than rules of grammar. I do pretty well selling that book at teacher conferences. The one thing insecure writers should remember is that academic writing and writing for profit are worlds apart.
You might appreciate this, which I saw on Twitter a week or two ago. Pretty apt. :)
I don't have a style book, but I have very helpful critique partners! Over the years, I've read so many different things, most rules seem to be only guidelines.
"Outline," they said. "You must brainstorm and then outline."
And yet some stories are better off discovery-written.
Hi Susan - I have to say I hate the thought of learning English ... my understanding of it is so poor - one day I'll need to tackle it, or hope others will correct for me ..
Interesting post though .. and I usually break rules! but follow the guidelines ... cheers Hilary
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