“Mr. Martin Tanner, baritone of Dayton, Ohio, made his town hall debut last night. He came well prepared, but unfortunately, his presentation was not up to contemporary professional standards.
His voice lacks the range of tonal color necessary to make it ‘consistently interesting.’
Full-time consideration of another endeavor might be in order.”
Harry Chapin – ‘Mr. Tanner’
For those of you who don’t know, I’m a HUGE Harry Chapin fan. I think his talent for poetry to lyrics was incredible. I was fortunate enough to see him in concert just a few months before he died, and that concert (from over 39 years ago) still plays in my memory.
So, the term ‘consistently interesting,’ has a meaning that transcends music, lyrics, and creative writing. However, in creative writing, the author needs to play by certain conventions: The Rules of Grammar, Punctuation, and Word Usage.
Suppose an Author doesn’t follow the basics. How can they possibly believe that the average Reader will understand what they’re saying?
This is why it’s crucial to understand ‘HOW to write,’ and learn the basic rules.
The critics said that Mr. Tanner’s voice wasn’t ‘consistently interesting.’ Don’t let that be what your Readers think of you.
English comes in three different forms: formal standard, informal standard, and nonstandard. There is a great deal of overlap among these types, but you get the picture. Formal English isn’t used very much unless you’re writing a research paper. Still, some of the elements will leak into Informal English. And nonstandard language can become so familiar that it becomes part of the Informal vernacular.
So, happy writing. And remember, until you’re as BIG as Stephen King, you can’t break the rules.
