I was speaking with a fellow writer recently, and this person kept saying throughout the conversation that he loves to write, but he’s “not to good with grammar.” Doesn’t know it too well, he says, but as long as he gets the point across, it’s okay. Grammar bores him. He doesn’t like being “constrained by all the rules.”
I have no problems with writers who use improper grammar, IF they know the rules. I’ve always been a proponent of learning, and of understanding. Even if you break the rules, how can you not care about your “art” enough to find out what the existing rules are, so that you can break them? I consider it laziness. I don’t even want to hear any excuses.
There are a lot of benefits to learning the rules, one of which is that it will actually give you more ideas, more creativity. You can say to yourself, “This is one of the rules of music. No parallel fifths. Okay, let’s explore that idea…” You see? You have to have a foundation to build upon in order to make an impact.
There is no reason to neglect studying the rules, I don’t care if you’re a painter, cinematographer, magician, sculptor, or whatever. If you want to be great at your art, if it holds a lot of meaning for you, then learn the rules. At that point even if you decide to break them, it will be an artistic decision, as opposed to an uneducated decision.
In fact, you’ll be able to break the rules ingeniously. And make a mark on this world. For the better.
See?
