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For me there's grammar and then there's grammar.
The precision and strictness many people are taught to utilize in/for school/academia is not always the best way to communicate in a narrative form. Strunk & White's Elements of Style is useful, but it's not a great manual on how to write narrative fiction.
Certain mistakes of grammar/spelling/style/usage are absolutes for me (I won't belabor them here):
#1 - know the spelling and meaning of the word you want to use. Its/it's, there/their/they're, to/two/too are pretty easy to master and understand.
But I'm not a stickler about split infinitives, beginning a sentence with a conjunction, or ending one with a preposition. Sometimes style and effective communication trumps strict grammar. You should have a strong grounding in the "rules" before you can decide when it is proper and effective to bend or break them.
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