“Vodka martini, shaken not stirred.” As a James Bond fan, I’ve heard these words many times. So, I decided to try one myself when I was in a fancy cocktail bar in London.

Disappointingly, they didn’t ask how I wanted it mixed so I didn’t get chance to say the immortal words.

The first time I tried a martini was pretty much just for effect and I didn’t expect to like it so much. But it’s now my go-to on the admittedly rare occasion I have a cocktail. I know to order it dry, I know an olive tastes much nicer than lemon. And yes, I’ve asked for it shaken not stirred.

Then, just as I thought I’d got the hang of it, I was in a tiny place in my home town. I gave my standard order, then the bartender told me in no uncertain terms he’d be stirring and not shaking.

“WHAT!!!” I shrieked. I then got a very long explanation about keeping the drink crystal clear, as shaking can create ice chips and dilute the drink.

Upending years of supposition that Mr Bond was indubitably correct.

In the same way the “Mandela effect” has large groups of people believing something that never actually happened, my “007 effect” had me believing there was only one way to drink a martini.

Which got me thinking. How many things do we just take as read because we’ve read them? What do we believe because someone with a confident swagger has told us so?

And when we write, is it so very wrong to mix things up a little? To take what we’ve always believed and add a new twist of our own?

Here are a few of the “rules” I like to shake up:

Starting a sentence with “and”

Some people hate this. I love it. Not great for very corporate comms, but if you’re writing a chatty blog and going for a conversational tone, it makes for a nice change.

Write naturally rather than to a formula

My children have been taught endlessly about fronted adverbials, which is turns out simply means putting your explanatory text upfront, before your verb. Most of us probably do this anyway to some degree, but tying yourself up in knots will just lead to stilted sentences that don’t make much sense.

Don’t confuse big with clever

Unless you’re writing an academic essay, you don’t need to use long words to show people how brainy you are. Be clear, concise and informative for business comms. For storytelling and prose, be evocative, descriptive, dramatic. Whatever you’re writing, your aim is to engage your readers, not send them to sleep with boredom.

Split your infinitives

There’s a bit of an old-school rule that says you shouldn’t split your infinitives.

Most of us have heard of the famous “To boldly go” line from Star Trek and plenty of writers argue that it’s just plain wrong, grammar-wise – technically, it should read, “To go boldly”. But how about this, the last line from Lord Byron’s ‘Love and Death’: “To strongly, wrongly, vainly love thee still.” Flip it around with a non-split infinitive and it doesn’t have half the impact.

Show and tell

The common rule is “show don’t tell” and in many cases, it’s a good one. But you can also tell, just keep it informative. Even in storytelling (the clue is in the name) it happens. “Reader, I married him.”

Think of mixing up the rules in the same way as my bartender mixing my martini. He knew what would work best and he was right.

But maybe I like ice chips and diluted drinks. Don’t break the rules for the sake of being rebellious. Equally, don’t be afraid to try something new.

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