I had always taken pride in my grammatic expertise before I went back to school for my second graduate degree 3 years ago. One thing I learned there first semester in my Composition Theory and Writing Pedagogy class was that the language is always evolving, whether we like it or not. There's no such thing as permanent rules in grammar, usage, spelling, or any other aspect of the way we write and talk.

I'm still fond of the pluperfect and will continue to employ it when logic dictates. But characters in my novels--unless they're old intellectuals like me--are going to talk the way most people talk today.