I paused as I finished writing a recent blog post for a client to take a look at my work.
“Yes,” I thought to myself, “Miss R. would definitely have marked this one up.”
I counted two. . . no, three sentence structures that my high school English teacher, Miss R. would have marked in red.
“Yep, there’s a cliche. Here’s an incomplete sentence. And, there’s a sentence that I’ve started with a conjunction.”
In my high school days, all of those “mistakes” would have been corrected by my English teachers.
The difference is that back then I was learning proper grammar and sentence construction and now I am making these constructions on purpose to achieve a conversational tone. Plus, I’m doing it with my client’s full knowledge and approval.
Often, when I blog I try to achieve the same tone that I would use during a personal conversation. Sometimes, I actually imagine myself discussing the post verbally with a reader.
While I wouldn’t use a conversational tone for every writing project, I think that conversational tone makes for good blogging.
Don’t get me wrong! I’m very grateful to Miss R. and my other English teachers. I still love red ink. Without it, I’d never have become the writer that I am today.
Have you broken any writing rules lately?
Contents (c) Copyright 2008, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved
Image Source: www.sxc.hu
18 responses so far ↓
1 Joanna Young // Sep 26, 2008 at
Laura yes, constantly! And for the reasons you give: to build rapport through a conversational tone. (Plus the odd few that slip through unintentionally!)
Nice way to blog about your work in the by-going 🙂
Hope you’re well, keep missing you on Twitter
Joanna
2 Lillie Ammann // Sep 26, 2008 at
Laura,
I generally write informally and conversationally—and simply. I think people are more apt to read and understand something that is written in a conversational tone, and isn’t that what we want?
3 Writer Dad // Sep 26, 2008 at
I’ve never had a writing class. I don’t know the rules, officially. I’m sure I break them all the time.
4 Laura // Sep 26, 2008 at
Wow! What a nice way to wake up – to three new comments already.
Joanna, I think you and I are on opposite time zones when it comes to Twitter. You seem to be getting off when I am getting on. (Not that I spend a huge amount of time there.)
WriterDad, They don’t teach English composition anymore? Really?
5 Braxton // Sep 27, 2008 at
Nice post. I really enjoyed reading every part of it. Like the concept of blogging tone 🙂 Keep on posting good work.
6 Janine // Oct 1, 2008 at
I strongly believe that sometimes you need to break the rules to get ahead and set yourself apart from others.
Good post!
For anyone into freelance writing interested in breaking the rules and learning how it can benefit you, read the Renegade Writer books! They’re fantastic.
7 Fiona // Oct 2, 2008 at
Hi Laura. My journalism professor always used to say you have to know the rules before you can break them. So true. There, I broke one 🙂 As you say, there’s a difference between simply having poor grammar and deliberately doing it ‘wrong’ in order to create a coversational tone.
8 Laura Spencer // Oct 4, 2008 at
Thanks guys! (Or should I say, “fellow writing rebels?”)
It’s great that there are others out there willing to experiment with words.
9 Matt Keegan // Oct 10, 2008 at
Laura, I’m with you! Though I do like to make sure that my articles are written in a certain way, there are times I take some liberty and bend those rules.
Mrs. Crumbrauck is no longer looking over my shoulder, in fact I think she may be quite dead by now! 😉
10 Lori // Oct 22, 2008 at
I break a LOT of writing rules! My husband is frequently pointing out my grammar mistakes in speech, which I argue can often be acceptable in informal conversation (I know he’s right – I just like to argue!). As long as we have the basics down – proper noun form, verb form, and no dangling modifiers – blogging can bend the rules a bit.
11 Tom Lindstrom // Nov 6, 2008 at
It´s all about being unique, so breaking writing rules is even recommended I think.
12 PreciseEdit // Nov 12, 2008 at
We love the rules. We believe in them. We think they help people communicate more effectively.
And we believe in breaking them.
Our service “Writing Tips for a Year” includes 73 “rules” (mechanics), but we do encourage our subscribers to evaluate their appropriateness in a given context. Breaking the rules is fine if purposeful.
One note: Some “rules” I heard in early English classes were wrong. Because I was told never to start sentences with “because,” I began to doubt my teachers. And I was right to doubt.
13 Anthony Lawrence // Nov 12, 2008 at
Oh, boy.. do I remember my martinet grammar teacher, Ms. Sanford. I often think of her as I write my pages and imagine her complaints.
I have one rule: writing is good if the intended audience understands and enjoys. Nothing else matters, Ms. Sanford 🙂
14 Susan // Nov 14, 2008 at
If I had followed all the rules of writing and how a travel writer is suppose to break in, I’d still be torturing myself over why no one would buy my writing.
Rules are meant to be a guide, not laws.
15 PC Guide // Nov 18, 2008 at
My husband is frequently pointing out my grammar mistakes in speech, which I argue can often be acceptable in informal conversation -I know he’s right – I just like to argue!-. As long as we have the basics down – proper noun form, verb form
16 Why a Conversational Writing Style Is Important : WritingThoughts // Apr 5, 2011 at
[…] to write in a formal style. While I think that it’s important to understand the rules (so that you can break them), English teachers would be doing their students a real favor if they also encouraged students to […]
17 laser // Oct 15, 2011 at
Giving critiques is not for everyone. Some of us just don’t have the heart to tell another writer that their work needs work. I do think it gets easier with practice. If you want to strengthen your critique skills, you could always practice by writing critiques and keeping them to yourself. After doing a few of these, you might find that you’re more willing to share your suggestions with other writers, especially those who’ve asked for your feedback. But if you’re not comfortable, then you shouldn’t feel obligated (unless, of course, you’re in a workshop or other setting where critiques are required).
I too get a kick out of colloquial phrases and expressions. Grammar is necessary because it gives us a framework, but breaking the rules (as long as you know the rules and why you are breaking them) can add a bit of spice to the writing.
laser
18 App Review: Grammar Pop Game // Feb 5, 2014 at
[…] a dirty word for some creatives, and I totally understand that. However, if you’re going to break the rules in your writing, you first need to understand what the rules are. That’s where grammar comes […]