High school composition classes tend to lump a lot of rules into writing—many of them telling writers what not to do.

But we're not writing to please our teachers anymore. Many of those prohibitions refer to so-called mistakes that occur naturally in speech.

This is the chapter that empowers us to boldly and fearlessly crush those rules! Embrace these “mistakes” in writing—but only when embracing them adds clarity, readability, or voice. Or when it makes a sentence less clumsy overall.

1. Never start a sentence with also, and, because, but, or, so.

   And why not put any of these words at the beginning of a sentence? Because Ms. Frizzle didn't like it? But what if she was wrong?

   So why should we start a sentence with any of these words? Because all three can add energy and momentum to a piece. Also they keep the action moving from sentence to sentence.

2. Avoid sentence fragments. It's perfectly fine to sparingly add sentence fragments for emphasis.

   At least, sometimes. (Like that.)

   And that too.

   And this.

3. Never split infinitives. An infinitive is the word to and the simplest form of a verb. To be, to breathe, to live are all infinitives.

   There's supposedly a rule that says you can't let anything come between to and its verb. The two are a single unit that together express one idea.

   Or so the thinking goes.

   But that is fake news. Consider, for example, Star Trek's famous directive “to boldly go where no one has gone before.” The Star Trek writers could just as easily have written, “to go boldly where no one has gone before,” says Mignon Fogarty at Quick and Dirty Tips.¹ But they didn't.

   It's okay to happily split away.

   And sometimes, splitting an infinitive delivers a less awkward construction:

   • As in: Mr. Darcy's vast wealth is expected to more than double in the next fortnight.
   • As in: Fitzwilliam used to secretly admire Elizabeth.
   • As in: He'd like you to carefully consider his proposal.

   One caveat: Be careful you don't unintentionally change the meaning or create ambiguity by splitting an infinitive.

   Consider these two sentences:

   1. Uncle Homer decided to immediately construct a new barn for Wilbur.
   2. Uncle Homer decided immediately to construct a new barn for Wilbur.

   Did Uncle Homer decide to begin construction immediately? That's what the former says.

   Or did Uncle Home just decide quickly? That's what the latter says.

   Keep your wits about you.

4. Don’t end a sentence with a preposition. After an editor changed his sentence so it wouldn't end with a preposition, Winston Churchill allegedly countered: “This is the kind of impertinence up with which I shall not put.”

   Awkward, was Winston's point. “This is the kind of impertinence I will not put up with” is fine—even if it ends in a preposition.

   A preposition is a word or group of words to show time, direction, place, and so on. Some examples are above, across, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, by, down, from, in, into, near, of, off, on, to, toward, under, upon, with, within.

   Sometimes a preposition plays a key role at the end of a sentence.

   As in: Count Chocula doesn't know what he's talking about.

   As in: Flo from Progressive isn't sure where she came from.

   One big unless: Don't end a sentence with a preposition when the sentence would mean the same thing without it.

   Instead of: Where are you at?

   Try: Where are you?²

5. Never write a paragraph that’s only one sentence long. Many of us were taught to write paragraphs with no fewer than three sentences and no more than seven. (See Chapter 4.) Reading online has pretty much choked this one dead, because white space boosts online readability.

   But it bears emphasizing: one sentence, set apart, is a great way to make an important point crystal clear.

   Seriously.

   I would not lead you astray.

6. Never use sentence fragments.

   Each sentence must have a subject and a verb. For the most part? Yes. But not always.

   I'm writing this on Microsoft Word. The program is arguing with me on almost every page, calling me out on my use of sentence fragments.

   In the third paragraph of this chapter, for example, Microsoft is having an aneurysm over “Or when breaking rules makes a sentence less clumsy overall.”

   It's also mad at me for the second paragraph here: “For the most part?” And: “But not always.”

   But I'm overriding your decisions, Microsoft. The fragments stay, because the context is clear. And because it works with my voice. (Another fragment. MS Word and I might need couples counseling after this book.)

   You can use a fragment if:

   • It works with your style and voice, and
   • The context is crystal-clear.