The challenge to being a good blogger is blogging even when you aren’t feeling up to it or finding time even when time is scarce. The challenge for many good writers in any medium is exactly the same. As my advisor, Brock Cole used to tell me regularly, Butt in Chair, Mara. Butt in Chair.
At any rate, here is a thought for today. As always, I’m looking for comments.
I don’t believe there are a lot of rules for for writing, but I do believe there are a lot of good guidelines. Understanding the guidelines is what I call craft. Knowing when to bend and when to break those guidelines is what I call genuis. If a writer breaks writing guidelines by accident or because he or she doesn’t know or understand them, the writer looks foolish and the writing bad. However, when a writer breaks those guidelines with understanding and with purpose, then he or she looks brilliant.
Anyone want to offer examples of this? Or have writing rules they think should never be broken?
Mara,
I think you’ve hit it exactly right. When I taught in classrooms as a teaching artist I often told kids, “Every rule can be broken.” (In writing, at least!)”But first you’ve got to understand the rule in order to break it cleverly.”
I would be hardpressed to identify a rule that couldn’t be broken. . . . at least, by a genius.
Comment by Daniel Gabriel — September 4, 2008 @ 7:18 pm |