Why can't I start a sentence with 'and'?" I had asked my English professor in college. "Because it's the rule," she'd said astutely. "But, we do it all the time in spoken English," I argued. "If it were written English, you are wrong again, Miss. You don't start a sentence with a 'but' either," she said, adjusting her spectacles on her head.

I have broken that rule over a hundred times in my writing career. Because sometimes, there's no better way to break a sentence than start with an 'and'. Now, I am glad it's been acknowledged in Dreyer's English: How to Write Clearly and Stylishly by Benjamin Dreyer (Random House), a buoyant set of rules for good writing by a man who has been mending authors' words his entire life.