I’ve been knee-deep in edits for the Wonderstruck book and Bible study over the last three months. And one of the biggest challenges for my beloved editors is distinguishing the grammar rules broken by accident versus those which are intentional.
Why? Because when writing, I’m a rule breaker.
Now in writing, different types of rule breakers exist:
The Haphazard Rule Breakers: These writers bulldoze through rules because they never bothered to learn them. They may know enough of the do’s and don’ts to form a readable sentence, but the way they break the rules, their sentences need to be corrected and edited carefully.
The That’s-The-Way-I-Said-It Rule Breaker: These writers break rules, because they feel the way they communicate verbally and in print are interchangeable. They assume the sound and sight of a word is the same. They’ve never taken the time to study skilled writers or hone their writing—which is oh-so-different than communicating verbally.
The Highly Intentional Rule Breaker: These writers follow and honor the rules, but they also know some rules need to be broken in order to create phrases that haunt and images that linger.
At times, I fall into to be a Haphazard Rule Breaker—in particular, when it comes to colons and semi-colons. Though I’ve read and studied the rules, I still find them gooey and messy. When I’m tired, I fall into the trap of That’s-The-Way-I-Said-It and toss words on a page rather than handcraft them. But my heart’s desire is that I’d be a Highly Intentional Rule Breaker.
This kind of writing requires a skilled editor to tell you, “That’s not working!” and “I know what you’re trying to do, but you’re not doing it well.”
For example, I-tried-to-write-a-sentence-like-this-all-hyphened-together-to-create-a-sense-that-what-was-happening-felt-like-single-gulp. My editor kindly told me to delete the hyphens—the writing wasn’t working.
But in another place in Wonderstruck, I built a story in which the linchpin woke in the morning and everything changed. To slow down the pace of the story, I placed hyphens between every letter of the word s-t-r-e-t-c-h. It was a kind of punctuation pun that visually stretched, but also slowed the reader down enough to feel the stretch in the moment. I broke the rules, but it was highly intentional.
Another example is a moment in the book when I lost my breath. I had to catch it again. Rather than say I took a breath, I caught, my, breath. The commas between each word made every editor and copyeditor who worked on the book cringe, but I was being strategic. In the build up of the story, I wanted the reader to catch their breath along side of me, slowing down to drink in each word.
Now if you break the rules too many times, or even use the same trick twice, you’ll annoy your reader. But if properly placed and highly strategic, you can sprinkle wonder, delight, and joy into your writing.
What are some of your favorite tricks to the trade of writing?
*Photo courtesy of here
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Thanks for this, Margaret. I’m definitely guilty of the first two and aspiring to learn the art of the intentional rule breaker.
Ha! I’m surrounded by a sea of copy-edited pages this morning, realizing just how many rules I do break. 🙂 I think of myself as a grammar stickler, but then when I encounter a real stickler–a copy-editor–I realize I’m breaking rules left & right. Hope you’re well, pal! XO
Shauna, You’re so right. I break a lot more rules if you ask my editor. Praying edits go well. Your instagram pics are making my mouth water–if you need a taste tester for the recipes, I’m in.
You and me both, Jenni!
I’m the second kind of rule-breaker, but I’m rebellious and kinda like it. Might have a few hard lessons to learn!
Maybe not frequently in blogs, but I like colons and listing things in bullet form for business emails.
I think my boss thinks I’m clearer and more concise this way.
Margaret, I tend to be one who writes like I talk. Very Conversational. So, I guess I’m a rule breaker {lots of fragmented sentences}. But, I’m also not writing a book. If I was, I would very much be in trouble. Love your writing, even when you break the rules.
I’m a highly intentional rule breaker, and I do not break rules often. Perhaps to a fault. However, based on my reading experience, too much intentional rule breaking is distracting and frustrating to me as a reader, so I prefer to err on the side of grammatical accuracy rather than originality! 🙂
Lori, you need a t-shirt that says “I’m a Writing Rebel!”
Kristi, using colons to offset a list and bullets will always help make the list clear. I bet your boss loves your work!
Lorna, you’d be perfect for writing dialogue in fiction! We probably all feel the pull to write how we talk, though
Katy, I’m sure you are any editor’s dream come true. As the saying goes, a small sprinkle of seasoning can go a long long way.
I appreciate this post. I am trying, as a blogger and as an aspiring writer, to really think about all of this and communicate carefully and clearly. Sometimes on my blog I like to separate a single sentence from the rest of the paragraph to create emphasis.
Spelling is sometimes my biggest problem, so I am thankful for spell check and for my husband. 🙂 I have also found that the more I am reading, the better my writing is.
Who doesn’t need a good editor? I guess I have been all three forms of a rule-breaker at one time or another.
My real trouble comes not when I write how I talk, but when I talk like I write! This is particularly a problem in a foreign country where English is the second language for most people. Even highly fluent people here still balk when I say something silly, like, when watching the news about the election:
Me: It pains me that so few members of the American Fourth Estate deign to prioritize accuracy above sensationalism.
My friend: What?!
Sadly this is not limited to English. The Arabic I was taught in University was the formal kind, which is used for political speeches and in the news and in books, and a dialect completely different from it is spoken in the streets. So most of my language is highly formal. It probably sounds them like speaking in iambic pentameter would to English speakers. Alas!
Margaret, to me, your writing always sounds fresh and… crisp. There’s nothing stale or conventional or cliche about it and if you break the rules, on purpose or not, I don’t notice it when I read your writing because the whole comes off as very clean and streamlined.
Kristen, I’ve used that single sentence technique before, too. Keep writing! And may your aspirations turn into reality
Amy, great example! As a native English speaker, I don’t normally think about that. Thanks for bringing it to light!
I can see how writing for book publication would require following a lot of rules, but I’ve noticed that the blogs I enjoy most use more of a conversational style of writing. Not exactly that’s-the-way-i-said-it, but certainly less formal than an essay. It also seems like blog readers have come to expect humor via rule-breaking. I did so much essay and technical writing in college that I’ve had a hard time breaking myself of that while blogging. I suppose what I’m saying is that the rules for writing may change depending on your delivery method.
This poses a challenge when blogging in the hopes of being published one day. I’ve thought about blogging a book/Bible study, but have questioned the appropriate writing style for the posts. Should they be typical conversational blog style to attract readers? Or more formal essay style to attract publishers? Or maybe forget about publishers and create a book iPhone/iPad app in order to take advantage of multimedia capabilities (which I might need for my Bible study idea)?
Now that I’ve thought about it, I’m more confused than ever.
I’d have to say my rule breaking is a cocktail of every one of the types you have listed. But I definitely aspire to be a Highly Intentional Rule Breaker if only because I love finding those gems myself when reading a book.
That’s just one of the reasons I love your books so much!
I really liked hearing your thoughts on this, Margaret. I ghostwrote a book a couple of years ago and dealt with the same thing with the editors. My stumbling block — or “intentional rule break” — was writing incomplete sentences for drams, repetition, and to create pause.
For example. “I knew in that snatch of time that things would never again be the same. That they would be forever altered. Forever frayed. Mournfully torn at the edges.”
It’s tricky to know when to leave those “sentences” alone, when to combine with a semi-colon, or when to ditch them all-together for something more conventional.
Thoughts on this?
…oops, “drama”, not “drams” (UNINTENTIONAL!!)
As a blogger, I am ridiculously guilty of overusing the one sentence in a paragraph for a “pause and make sure you heard me” purpose. Wouldn’t fly with an editor, I know. Example here: http://www.queenoffree.net/2011/12/royal-ramblings-christmas-your-marriage.html
I make efforts to keep the rules always, when I do break them they see not intentional but I think I will learn to break some intentionally thanks for this piece
Leslie, great questions! and what a great dream! You might want to check out Jeff Goins (we’re giving away his book, Wrecked, this week.) He got a leg up in publishing through the blogging world.
BeckyA, we should create a Highly Intentional Rule Breakers Club! With a motto, of course 🙂
Cherie, I love your one sentence paragraphs! I’m guilty of using this technique, too.
Steve, so glad to hear you’re pushing yourself as a writer. Keep writing!
Jane, a good question to ask is, “Is this neccessary?” Sometimes, we’ll want to keep the sentences. Othertimes, we’ll find we don’t need all of them. Keep dialoguing with your editors!
Thanks for this. I want to get better at writing…better than my college professor telling me that I am good. I like to blog and want to write books also. Your books have inspired me a ton. I love how the way you write reads like you are having a conversation with the reader. That is how I would like to come across.
You’ve hit on a good way to break down how people break grammar/writing rules, Margaret. Most of the writing I have done in the last thirty years has been writing a sermon every week or writing academic papers. I have also taught writing on a college level for years, so I know the rules.
What I am trying to do in my blog is write like I preach but less preachy (!) and write with more spontaneity than I would in my academic prose.
I try not to fall victim to rule number 2 above but I want to write in a relaxed fashion. I struggle with writing and presuming intimacy by using first person or seeming too distant by writing in the third person.
In the end, I’m just trying to be faithful in writing regularly. I have been trying to write in slightly different styles to gauge interest and to find my blogging voice. In your writing, I like your tone and your imagination.
You are helping me learn to find my own voice in this social media world. Thanks!