Grammar V. Style

Recently, I read a forum thread titled "Advice to New Authors" or something like that.  In reality, it read more like a bitch session from aggravated readers.  Still, some good points were raised.  One of which being that readers don't want to pay for work that contains poor grammar, misspellings, and typos.

I can dig it.  I've seen some work out there that's pretty rough.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not perfect.  Everyone makes mistakes, and I'm sure that I haven't spotted the last one in my work.

Thing is, I take this writing bit seriously.  After I decided to put my whole heart into this, I knew that I would need to sharpen my skills in the mechanics of writings.  At the time I didn't realize how frustrating this could actually be.  Sure, there are easy lessons.  Spell stuff right, know your punctuation, etc.  But, there are some gray areas out there, too.

For example:  Most sources will tell you that when it comes to dialog attribution, just stick to the classic, "he said" and "she said."  This would be great advice, if I haven't read so many examples from contemporary fiction where this rule is ignored consistently.  Then there are authors like Cormac McCarthy, who don't even bother to use quotation marks.  Why didn't they get called into the editor's office for a stern lecture?

The short answer is, when these authors bend or break the rules, it's called "Style," but, when other writers do the same, it's called, "Terrible."  In the thread I mentioned, and in others like it, I've heard many writers play that card.  So, the question I asked to the contributors was this, "What do you define as the line between Style and Bad Grammar?"  Responses varied, but, there is a common thread I noticed.  In the subtext of what every person said would constitute plain old bad grammar was this message:  Don't pull me out of the story.

Which is what it really comes down to.  What they told me is that if I write something in such a way that it makes the reader stop and think about the writing rather than the story, then it's not working.  Call it bad grammar, or a failed attempt at style, either way, something will need to change.  There is, as always, a degree of subjectivity.  Some readers enjoy modern styles of writing where the authors play around with the rules of grammar.  Other's can't stand it.

This goes back to the whole, gray area... thing.  It seems to me that some authors can pull of unique styles because they understand the rules of grammar, and know how to break them in such a way that it won't distract their readers, or break the continuity of the story.  Writing is art.  In any art form, knowing the basics will help you communicate your ideas more effectively.  Painters learn brushstrokes, it seems only natural that writers would have to learn the rules that we call Grammar.  Once the rules are known, it's up the artist how they tell that story.

Someone will probably still bitch, though.  I read somewhere, "Pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everyone off sure is easy."