In the last post, I said we were going to talk about rule-breaking. I’m not going to break that promise. And I promise these tips won’t break your writing. So let’s get to it and discuss a few grammar rules you can break!
Writing has laws of perspective, of light and shade, just as painting does, or music. If you are born knowing them, fine. If not, learn them. Then rearrange the rules to suit yourself.” ~ Truman Capote (some punctuation mine…pardon my OCD, but this is a writing blog…)
First, we are going to discuss three guidelines on how to break the rules in the best way. Second, I will give you three grammar rules you can break (there are more, but these are [in my opinion] the funnest).
We start with guidelines first because before you take a hammer to the good ol’ English world, you have to know how to hit it right and when to strike for maximum success of impact. Here we go:
1. Know the Rules Before You Break Them
Don’t be an amateur when it comes to rule-breaking.
We have to know what we’re doing. An amateur rule-breaker will seem to not actually know the rules but just break them out of ignorance. We must be spot-on with our grammar everywhere else. Spelling, punctuation, nuance, the works. We need to build trust with our audience and show them we know our way around English. They have to see us as savvy, professional, and intentional before we can go around disregarding rules. But once they do see us this way, our broken rules will draw attention to our style and what we’re saying, not how we totally didn’t include a verb in that sentence fragment.
2. Break Sparingly
Don’t break rules constantly.
If we keep rule-breaking as an occasional device, it will stand out more when we do digress from the expectation, drawing attention. A little bit goes a long way, kind of like spices in cooking (some peeps need to be reminded of this more than others…;)).
3. Remember Your Audience
Don’t be stupid.
There are times to break rules and times not to break them. We must keep in mind who we’re speaking to. If the setting is casual, like an email, blog, article, friendly newsletter, or fiction work, then a lot of times it’s okay. But if it’s serious nonfiction, formal letters, professional profiles, resumes, or academic work, we should exercise caution. In many of these cases, it’s better to err on the side of not breaking the rule.
Now let’s smash some rules!
Rule 1: Write in Complete Sentences
This is an important rule. Honestly though? It’s pretty constraining. For example, that second sentence there is not complete. But it works.
There are times we can ignore this rule. However, we need to make sure we understand how sentences work and what constitutes a proper and complete sentence before we go around breaking it.
We would normally break this rule to (1) make a dramatic point, (2) be more conversational in our writing, or (3) create accurate dialogue in fiction (because who goes around talking in complete sentences nowadays?).
Rule 2: Don’t Begin Sentences with Conjunctions
And, but, and or are common conjunctions. Conjunctions join phrases or clauses in a sentence. Normally, it is frowned upon to begin a sentence with one. But it can be done. <— Like that one right there.
Long story short, it’s acceptable. Just don’t do it all the time, or it can appear unprofessional.
Rule 3: Don’t End Sentences with Prepositions
But how else do we get our point across? (See what I did there? I just broke Rules 2 & 3 in one fell swoop! Mwa-ha-ha!) Exactly. (And there goes rule 1!) Sometimes you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.
The thing about this rule is that to not break it often makes us sound overly stiff. For example, check out a sentence from earlier:
“We must keep in mind who we’re speaking to.”
Technically, this is incorrect because the sentence shouldn’t end with the preposition “to.” But look what happens when we write it properly:
“We must keep in mind to whom we’re speaking.”
This is proper, but…it’s also super formal. Once again, formal is great for professional or academic work, but not so much for newsletters or dialogue, unless you’re creating a very, very refined character.
Bottom line? Break rules, friends. But break them carefully.
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