Why "stylistic differences" is complete bullshit as an argument:
On a serious business note, I had this rant at a friend of mine concerning why fic authors who try to pass terrible writing skills off as stylistic choice are completely missing the point:
[Literary] masterminds like e.e. cummings (caps intended) don't violate the rules just to be artistic. They do it because in doing so, they're implying a meaning that the definitions of the words that they use can't express. There's a distinct difference, and I think a lot of "intellectual" fanfic authors don't understand that. Lit just doesn't work the way they think it does.
Moreover, the entire "the way it should be read" argument is bullshit. If they understood two shits about grammar and syntax, they'd know that FOLLOWING THE RULES would render their passage as being read EXACTLY AS IT SHOULD BE. Omitting commas or putting commas where they shouldn't be doesn't magically make the passage read like you want it to. It makes it read like the opposite of what you want because you're making a mess.
In other words, commas and other punctuation and grammatical rules don't just signal pauses. They convey a sense of meaning by bringing a certain order to your language in order to convey the message not just via denotation but also through a certain flow. To say that you're defying the rules because it doesn't allow your work to flow a certain way is to fail to understand what the rules are in the first place. You can only defy a rule if you know what it is, why it's a rule, and all the subtle implications it carries. Otherwise, the statement that you're making in defying the rule falls short of making sense because it can easily be argued that your statement doesn't even apply in the first place. For example, let's say that the argument is that the lack of a comma allows a sentence to be read naturally, but the comma signals not just a pause but a change in thought, a separation between one concept and the next. Without that divide, the two concepts merge into one big mess that the reader would have to separate mentally anyway... by forcing themselves to ignore the grammatical error.
Tl;dr, don't use this argument. It makes you look like a moron.
On a lighter note, remember that voice thing that I wanted to do for AEM's Christmas special? The script is (largely) finished, and I think we'll start working next week! That means some of you who volunteered will need to get parts assigned. If I don't already know what you sound like (read: we haven't talked on Skype), please send voice clips somehow to me to help me help you figure out which character(s) would be best for you.
And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, read here!
[Literary] masterminds like e.e. cummings (caps intended) don't violate the rules just to be artistic. They do it because in doing so, they're implying a meaning that the definitions of the words that they use can't express. There's a distinct difference, and I think a lot of "intellectual" fanfic authors don't understand that. Lit just doesn't work the way they think it does.
Moreover, the entire "the way it should be read" argument is bullshit. If they understood two shits about grammar and syntax, they'd know that FOLLOWING THE RULES would render their passage as being read EXACTLY AS IT SHOULD BE. Omitting commas or putting commas where they shouldn't be doesn't magically make the passage read like you want it to. It makes it read like the opposite of what you want because you're making a mess.
In other words, commas and other punctuation and grammatical rules don't just signal pauses. They convey a sense of meaning by bringing a certain order to your language in order to convey the message not just via denotation but also through a certain flow. To say that you're defying the rules because it doesn't allow your work to flow a certain way is to fail to understand what the rules are in the first place. You can only defy a rule if you know what it is, why it's a rule, and all the subtle implications it carries. Otherwise, the statement that you're making in defying the rule falls short of making sense because it can easily be argued that your statement doesn't even apply in the first place. For example, let's say that the argument is that the lack of a comma allows a sentence to be read naturally, but the comma signals not just a pause but a change in thought, a separation between one concept and the next. Without that divide, the two concepts merge into one big mess that the reader would have to separate mentally anyway... by forcing themselves to ignore the grammatical error.
Tl;dr, don't use this argument. It makes you look like a moron.
On a lighter note, remember that voice thing that I wanted to do for AEM's Christmas special? The script is (largely) finished, and I think we'll start working next week! That means some of you who volunteered will need to get parts assigned. If I don't already know what you sound like (read: we haven't talked on Skype), please send voice clips somehow to me to help me help you figure out which character(s) would be best for you.
And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, read here!