Jun 12 2008
When It’s Okay to Break the Rules of Writing
I was just reading All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. It’s a wonderful book and he’s an incredible writer. But you don’t have to read too far into the novel to realize he breaks just about every rule in existence, and does so boldly and repeatedly. Here are two sentences from the book:
The boy who rode on slightly before him sat a horse not only as if he’d been born to it which he was but as if were he begot by malice or mischance into some queer land where horses never were he would have found them anyway. Would have known that there was something missing for the world to be right or he right in it and would have set forth to wander wherever it was needed for as long as it took until he came upon one and he would have known that that was what he sought and it would have been.
The sentences are way too long. The second sentence lacks a subject before “would have.” There is no internal punctuation – no commas where there should be a half dozen at least.
Here’s another excerpt:
He’s not jealous.
That’s good. That’s a good trait to have. Save him a lot of aggravation.
What does that mean.
I dont mean nothing. I got to go.
Do you hate me?
No.
You dont like me.
Did you notice the absence of an apostrophe in “don’t”? McCarthy doesn’t use apostrophes in “don’t,” “can’t” and certain other common contractions throughout this book. Did you notice the absence of a question mark after “What does that mean”? Also, you probably noted that he doesn’t use quotation marks to enclose dialog.
And yet, in the hands of this master writer, those rule violations are okay. In fact, they somehow enhance the book.
Does that mean you can take the same liberties? Of course not. Wait until you’re an accomplished author with publishers clambering to buy your work. And even then, make sure your violations add something to your writing rather than hurting it. They say rules are made to be broken, but if you don’t break them skillfully, intelligently and at the right time and place, they will break you.
