Dow 11,000

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As the new millennium dawned, the Dot-Com bubble teetered on the brink of collapse. The Dow Jones had scaled the dizzying heights of 11,000 points, but my boss, a petroleum engineer with a shiny Penn State masters, was prophesying doom and gloom. His wisdom was legendary, but on this occasion, I felt compelled to disagree.

You see, I was neck-deep in an electrical engineering course at the time, hoping to transition to the sunny shores of project management. As the Dow crumbled down to a pitiful 7,000 points and NASDAQ tumbled a staggering 77%, my boss remained steadfast in his belief, saying, “The Dow will never hit 11,000 points again!” 

Perhaps that was the mantra of the petroleum engineering brigade, but for us electric warriors, the view was different. I jutted out my chin and mustered the courage to contradict him.

“Boss,” I said, “stock market indexes don’t operate in that way.”

As grim as it was to watch my retirement fund dwindle in those days, there was light at the end of the tunnel as I was eventually proven right. And hey! I wasn’t handed a pink slip, which was a bonus.

What about the writing?

Now, you might be wondering: what does this stock market drama have to do with writing? The answer is, quite a lot. Whether it’s the divide on the use of italics or the prologue/no-prologue debate, or the nitpicking over adverb usage, it’s a veritable minefield for novice writers.

There are countless rulebooks and conflicting advice, enough to give anyone a splitting headache. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that great writing defies convention and attracts attention. I have to believe that’s true; otherwise, what’s the point?

Take, for instance, Jane Harper’s ‘The Dry,’ where a whopping 30% of the novel is backstory rendered in italics. Critics would balk, but the book rocks a 4.3-star rating on Amazon with 73,000 ratings. Then there’s Stephen King’s ‘Holly’, which scoffs at the notion of linear time. The chapters skip back and forth, yet King’s fanbase remains unscathed. And let’s not forget J. K. Rowling, whose adverb usage would make Stephen King spit out his coffee. Yet, she’s laughing all the way to the BIG bank.

So, my budding wordsmiths (me especially), remember: rules are there to be bent, twisted, and occasionally, broken. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the Dow Jones index now stands at nearly 39,000 points. So much for my boss’s prophecy!

Are you a rules breaker?