The 2014 yeah write summer series continues! Check out Christine’s weekly kickoff post to find everything you need to know about the guidelines, format, and lounges for our third summer series. You’ll find the grid and posting guidelines at the bottom of this post. Don’t forget to drop by the yeah write lounges and the coffeehouse and introduce yourself. They are open 24-7 and would love to see you.
Rules matter
Even though the supergrid is a free for all, remember the basic rules still matter. Bring your best work! Remember your word count! Nonfiction should be under 600 words; fiction under 750; gargleblasters exactly 42.
But it’s not those rules I came to talk to you about today. It’s the rules you learned in high school, the rules we’re discussing in the topical posts, and the rules I just broke by starting that last sentence with “but.”
Know the rules!
Writing is all about communication. The basic rules of grammar and spelling give us a baseline for communicating clearly and effectively with each other. Those rules are only the beginning, but you need them the way a house needs a foundation. Without that underlying structure, the house of words you are building will inevitably collapse under its own weight, leaving the reader wondering… so what?
Use ’em, use ’em, don’t abuse’ em.
As you’ve probably noticed in reading other people’s writing (never your own, of course!) it gets pretty boring when every sentence adheres to the subject-object-predicate rule.
This is a sentence. A sentence has words in it. Words have meanings. Sentences convey meanings by using words. This is really boring. I am sorry. I am also bored now.
The trick to developing your own voice as a writer is breaking the rules deliberately, for emphasis.
When to bend ’em and when to break ’em
The difference between accidentally breaking rules and deliberately breaking rules for emphasis is the difference between a child sitting at the wrong desk and Rosa Parks.
Don’t believe me?
A child entering a classroom with assigned seats for the first time sits down at a random desk. What she doesn’t know is that she has already been assigned a seat with other children of her age and general ability. When it is time for reading and math assignments, she needs to be near her group. The seat she has chosen places her among children who are working at different levels, and it makes her schoolwork more difficult than it has to be. It’s ok; she didn’t know any better, but the the teacher will gently return her to her assigned seat so that the whole classroom can learn and communicate more efficiently.
Rosa Parks, on the other hand, knew the rules. And the rules didn’t make sense in the context of what she needed to communicate. By deliberately breaking the rules about where to sit, she spoke clearly and effectively about her status as a person.
Thanks for the metaphor, but so what?
When you break grammatical rules deliberately, you’re writing for emphasis. Sentence fragments, incomplete paragraphs, and incongruous word choices can add power to your point… but only if they show up. Writing that is peppered throughout with grammatical errors will not showcase your deliberate breaks. That’s why it’s important to understand and use the rules before you start to break them.
Hey, it worked for e.e. cummings, James Joyce, and Picasso.
This week’s optional prompt is: Why don’t we do it in the road?
Go ahead and answer that question in a gargleblaster, incorporate it in your longer fiction, or use it as inspiration for your nonfiction. You can also ignore it completely if you’ve already got a great idea! Below you’ll find the badge for the summer supergrid #173. Copy the code under the badge and paste it into the html or text view of your blog editor. Having trouble? Contact christine@yeahwrite.me for tech support. 
<a href="https://yeahwrite.me/summer-series-173/"> <img src="https://yeahwrite.me/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/summer173.png"> </a>
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