What's a rule?

Today I'm participating in Elana Johnson's blog hop. This woman is awesome by the way. if you haven't visited her blog you should.

There are so many rules in writing. Don't use passive voice, keep the point of view the same, your character has to be likeable, don't us ly words. While all of these are valid points sometimes rules are meant to be broken. When someone dares to break the rules one of two things happens. People either love it and it works out beautifully, or they get ground into the dirt for it. At one time or another I've broken every one of these rules and done it on purpose.
My favorite one is the likable character. I like to write characters who aren't likable, at least not to begin with. Their self absorbed and if I met them in real life I'd likely sock them in the face (much worse happens to them in the story, maybe that's why I like to write them). Dare to break the rules and strange things start to happen, new pathways open, and you go on a journey to new places you've never imagined before.