Breaking the rules makes more sense, right?

As a writer and editor, I care a lot about commas. And you should to—as Inc.com reports, “The lack of one Oxford comma in a Maine state law just cost Oakhurst Dairy $5 million in overtime pay.” Details are important!

Last week I shared about how (very!) much I care about commas—as soon as I won my crown for Prom Queen, I became a full-forced grammar girl. It’s been a few years since I settled the Case for Proper Punctuation, and since then, I’d gained a bit of perspective.

Punctuation is super important…but today I’m going to make a case for intentional punctuation instead of proper punctuation.

Yes, your editor IS telling you it’s time to break the rules.

Hear me out.

Consider the difference between these sentences.

I’m fine.

i’m fine

Or these:

How are you?

How are you???

Or this sentence:

I don’t know I’m really disappointed and I’m not sure what to do now to fix things but I totally planted my garden wrong and I put the planter boxes in the shade too much and so nothing is actually growing even though it’s summer and stupid hot and it’s just so sad.

Each of these examples breaks traditional grammar rules in a way that communicates more tone than it would otherwise. I can tell if my college roommate is truly fine or actually upset about something by the addition of a period at the end of her message. I receive a friend’s excitement if they use extra ???s and !!!s, and I know if they’re stressed by receiving an unwieldy, run-on text message.

To break the rules successfully, you must know your audience well and be sensitive to the timing of your message.

In the example above, I know the communication styles of my college roommate very well. Getting a text from her with a period at the end (almost always) means the opposite of the words she said.

Sophie: “I’m good.” (I know she’s in trouble). But I’m the opposite: texting back “i’m good”—she knows I’m in trouble. I almost always use punctuation and proper capitals when I text, so breaking these rules communicates something special. Know your audience.

Additionally, you must know the appropriate time to break the rules. A formal email is not the time to stick to your authentic voice and texting style and use a bunch of run-on sentences and informal punctuation; this is a time in which you must opt for good grammar. But texting your friend, roommate, or spouse? It’s helpful to be as expressive as possible, and using punctuation intentionally can be a great aid.

If you want to hear more, this article points out, some clever instances where intentionally breaking the rules of good grammar can be one of the best ways to communicate more than what your words can carry.

I’m curious to hear what you learn as you study yourself, your family and friends. I can’t be the only person interested in texting punctuation, right??

Hit reply to this email to tell me your favorite way to break the rules of writing.

Cheers,

Emily M

P.S. Talking about grammar…this fascinating book by Gretchen McCulloch, Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, talks about MANY fantastic wordy things. One such example is her observation that people who send a lot of postcards use more … and – than people who don’t! As a prolific postcard writer, I see this in my writing a lot! I’m curious if you have any writing quirks you’d like to share…