> The third stage is when you know the rules so well you can start breaking them, in ways which make your writing MORE functional and beautiful instead of LESS. My teacher said this is the level every writer should aim for, but years of grading appalling essays have made her wish it was illegal to try it until you have mastered writing well in a purely conventional sense. Heh.

I heard an interview with Adam Duritz, the lead singer of "Counting Crows" and a lady criticized him for a line in a song where he said the word "very" four times in a row and called him on his improper grammar. He stated that he had poetic license and that once he mastered proper grammar, he was allowed to use it in ways that went against the norm.

Fer"I agree"rick