Blog Chain - Rules? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Rules!

Instead of a Ten Word Tuesday, it's time for another round on the blog chain.  Today's question comes from the incredibly talented Abby, who asks:


There are SO many writing rules, but sometimes we have to break one or two, just to keep things interesting. Is there a writing rule you've broken on purpose? Why did you choose to break it? And if you want to post a snippet of your writing as an example, even better!


For once, the question at hand is an easy one for me.  Why do I consider this one easy?  Because this question assumes that I know what the writing rules are and that I go ahead and break them on purpose.  Forget it, Abby.  I'm lucky if I can even recognize when I'm breaking a rule, let alone do it on purpose.


I'm being slightly facetious of course, but the truth is that I write more by feel than by technique.  If a turn of phrase doesn't sound right to me, I alter it.  I do pay attention to the basics, such as not writing in a passive voice for example.  But I don't have any sort of educational background in writing and so I'm just learning as I go.  I will say that I'm a fan of certain broken rules, such as writing short spasms rather than complete sentences.  In the right moment, that one can have a lot of impact.


I'm not going to add a snippet, just because as I've said, I am not sure I'd know which snippet is a good example of a broken rule.  I'm not trying to avoid the situation, but I am aware of when I'm in over my head.  And at least for right now, recognizing all the right rules is an area where I'm in over my head.  On the other side of this coin though, I do try and learn about the rules all the time.  I pay attention to what all my fellow writers say and read blog posts by my favorite authors/agents/writers on the subject.  So who knows, maybe someday later I will be able to proudly say I do break a couple rules on purpose - and even know which rule I am breaking.


That's all I have to say on this subject.  I hope this will count for my bloghop post, even though I haven't really identified a broken rule LOL.  If you haven't had the chance to read Michelle McLean's awesome answer from yesterday, get on over there.  Tomorrow we can look forward to something truly revealing from that writing wizard we all know as Margie.  Oh, and if you haven't entered my contest for the free copy of Across The Universe by Beth Revis, make sure you do.  The contest ends tomorrow!


Which rules have you broken on purpose?  And why did you choose to do so?