Rules are for Fools

“The use of standard writing conventions by the author is significant to the establishment of ethos because this rhetorical appeal signals to readers the writer’s credibility and expertise.”

“Don’t begin a sentence with ‘and’ or ‘because.'” “Mention your thesis in the introductory paragraph.” “First person narratives are not professional pieces of writing.” Following rules is for people who’ haven’t experienced enough. I see this in my own life. When I don’t know what I’m doing (which happens far more often than I care to admit) I follow the rules religiously. Whether it’s writing a paper, driving a car, or multiplying polynomials; if you told me standing on my head and barking like a dog was a rule, I’d probably follow it. After I get a feel for what I’m doing I can become more lenient with the structure of it all. (Public apology is being issued to anyone who caught me speeding in a school zone or skipping that one step in my math work. I’d like to say I feel bad, but I don’t) My life follows a beautiful pattern:

1. Be thrown into a new situation.
2. Test the waters.
3. Get comfortable.
4. Get too comfortable.
5. Push myself too far.
6. Crash.
7. Burn.
8. Repeat.

Life is one ginormous learning experience. I learned this especially through writing. Do I personally think one must introduce their thesis, support it throughout the body paragraphs, make use of colorful language, put all the commas in all the right places, and looooove writing to be a great writer? Absolutely not. Writing is a skill that has to be practiced all the time. And just because a person is really, really good at one kind of writing doesn’t mean he or she is great at every kind of writing. Thinking in that sense is like saying, “Well he’s really good at cutting up vegetables, let’s see if he knows how to perform open heart surgery.” Pure danger. Once a writer finds his or her voice it can change the world. He or she doesn’t find that by following the rules so strictly. Find your purpose.

The point I’m trying to get across is that rules are guidelines, but not set in stone. A writer needs to find her own style, that style might be flawlessly executed paragraphs or haphazardly strewn together sentences. Find what you’re good at and work it to your advantage.

Link to reading: http://www.xchanges.org/xchanges_archive/xchanges/6.1/tyrrell/Tyrrell.pdf