: Re: Are creative writers all granted implicit immunity from grammar rules? That'd sure come in handy for me.

@Sarah872

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This is a question of "voice." In general, characters are expected to speak largely as real people speak, and real people often speak with non-standard grammar. However, if it becomes too hard to read, modern readers will find this annoying. At one time it was popular in American literature to write entire books in "dialect," but a modern author would be expected to just sprinkle enough dialect into the dialogue to give some flavor.

As far as the narrator, if the narrator is a character (first person), the same rules apply. If the narrator is not a character (third person) then you would generally use standard grammar. An exception to this is if you want to give a particularly strong sense of your own authorial voice. You'll want to be cautious about this, however, since readers will tend to get tired of this even more quickly (unless they happen to share your own dialect).

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