When faced with grammatical usage that seems arbitrary or acceptable to use either word, style, or form, the key then is to be consistent throughout a paragraph, manuscript, or book. You may rely on a specific style book that dictates a specific word or grammatical usage. Even among style books there is not always agreement. For example, the AP (Associated Press) developed a stylebook that often uses an efficiency of words or punctuation that results in using less space in newspaper columns. Some rules may be treated differently, for example, in the Chicago Manual or in college style manuals. Government agencies add their own style manuals of gobbledygook and bureaucratese. For example, one manual tells you to always use commas in a series of words or phrases. Other manuals say it's okay not to use a comma before such words as "and" or "or." Another example is confusion between the words "that" and "which" has troubled writers for centuries. The English language is littered with contradictions and exceptions that can drive writers and editors crazy.
So before you worry about being cited by the word police, ask yourself if your work is consistent. Is the writer whose work you're reading consistent? Those who are are usually judged to be good writers, even if they do violate the Chicago Manual, are those who made conscious decisions on word usage . Pick the style that subjectively seems correct and stick to it throughout your text or manuscript.
And here's a side tip for good storytelling. While the narrative of the story needs to be consistent, it's okay in dialogue for characters to use bad grammar. In fact, it makes them seem more human and realistic because most all of us use oral language that violates every grammar rule ever written. But, be careful. Again, be consistent. If your character speaks in a dialect and uses slang, that too needs to be consistent, unless there a change in that character justifies a change in dialogue. For example, we would likely see a change in a teenager that is educated and becomes an adult. So unless your character is an English professor or a British actor, let them speak real world.
A private note to Mark Zuckerberg, would you please publish a style book for Facebook posts?
