Who are these pompous pedants who preach what a writer should and should not do? They forbid one to start with a question. But I already did and I’m glad.
And they say don’t begin a sentence with “but” or “and.” But I’m doing both. And I’m even more glad.
As for rules, I break all I can. Constraints only enslave, squelch, and destroy the Muse, whereas defiance frees and creates.
As for mixing tenses, I did so in the past, I’m doing it in the present, and I’ll do likewise in the future.
Some rules are worth keeping, such as that against repetitive redundancy, I never repeat. I repeat: I never repeat.
Another rule I enjoy violating is not to use “utilize” when I can utilize “use.” I utilize paradox, but never contradict myself. Always.
I wonder about innumerable words struggling hacks have thrown away throughout the ages. Some critics and publishers may have found them golden. Authors fearful of breaking rules force many treasures to wallow in nonexistence, waiting to pop into print, should rules change.
Lost words are sad, but most tragic is to ignore the taboo I fear most, the one against boring the audience. I don’t know when my writing is bad, because I can’t write stuff good enough to compare it against. And if my critics fail to tell me how tedious my writing is, that’s because they fall asleep before they notice. They need a rule to stay awake to face the boredom. And to scold the author with more rules.
What do others say about rules? Check out The Rules of Writing According to 20 Famous Writers.
Wally Saunders
Long live the 83 year olds with creative ambitions! Life begins at 83! Thank you, Doctor Wordsmith! What an inspiration you are, Donald, for all of us wrinkled wordsmiths and senior scribblers who can claim 1935 as the year of our birth. I love this!
Wally Saunders
Gainesville
Cassie Selleck
As a lifelong breaker of rules, I applaud your philosophy. And your blog post. See what I did there?
Cassie Dandridge Selleck
Patsy Murray
Yep. I like breaking rules too. Because I want my writing to be like talking. Love what you said and how you said it, Donald!
Ransford C Pyle
with all those infinitives, you could have tried to at least split one of them.
Bonnie T. Ogle
A fun read! I can’t wait to learn all the rules so I can legitimately break them.
Brant O. Greene
Very nice Uncle D. Thanks for sharing.