What is Convention?
A widely accepted practice within a particular field or cultural context.
Breaking Conventions: The Trademark of Creative Writers
Conventions are unwritten rules that govern various aspects of usage within a particular field or culture. In creative writing, however, these conventions can be bent, broken, and completely twisted to the author's will. While grammar, spelling, and punctuation must be upheld, the conventions of story structure, narrative voice, and character development can be subverted for the purpose of artistic expression. Breaking conventions can set a writer apart, but it can also be fraught with risk, as the reader's expectation is thrown into chaos. To boldly break convention, a writer must first understand the rules before they can be bent.
In "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn, the convention of a trustworthy narrator is completely subverted when the reader discovers that both protagonists are unreliable, making the story's twists all the more effective.
In "Breaking Bad," showrunner Vince Gilligan subverts the convention of the traditional heroic protagonist by turning a high school chemistry teacher into a ruthless drug lord, forcing us to confront our own morality and question the black-and-white morality of other shows.