It is true that sentence fragments express incomplete thoughts.

A fragment is, by definition, an incomplete thought. Sentence fragments are pieces of sentences that can be combined with main clauses to form one complete, understandable thought. However, sometimes you may find the need to use fragments purposely, without the comfort of a complete sentence standing by to bring it to completion. Read through some examples of when it may be okay to use them, and other times when it may not.

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The importance of grammar relies on the idea that grammar will be used appropriately. Now, that does not necessarily mean that grammar will be used correctly. If the flow of your writing, or the dialogue that a character is speaking, warrants the use of what many would call "improper grammar," then, by all means, use it. Do not stick to conventional grammar rules just because you don't want to let down the literary giants who have dictated them. There are many more common grammar errors than using fragments wisely to express emotion, dialogue, or some other applicable concept.

A judicious way to use fragments within your writing would be to talk as if you are an average person having dialogue with another person, or expressing a monologue to oneself. Take this snippet from the novel I am working on as an example:

"She wanted things to stay the same with her parents. Really, truly. But if she was going to change into the chic high school freshman, she needed to speed up the change."

Two adverbs does not a sentence make. Other writers may warn you against using conjunctions, such as "but," at the beginning of a sentence, as it makes it into one of those pesky fragment sentences that you should be working hard to avoid. In both instances here, the lines read well. They flow together. They make sense with one another and emphasize the fact that the main character really feels a certain way, but desperately desires change to make her high school persona take full shape.

Here is another example:

"It's just that this instance -- this one time that everything was destined to go wrong -- it did. So much for trying to make the best of things."

Notice how the aforementioned sentence fragment example includes dashes as well as a fragment. The dashes set off information that is meant to be emphasized, just as the sentence fragment further emphasizes the main character's point that sometimes certain things are just not worth it.

You can combine the sentence fragments in the previous examples with the independent clauses next to them, but you may just find that they read better and more creatively, if you will, if you leave them as they are. Here is how the first example would read if combined:

"She really, truly wanted things to stay the same, but if she was going to change into this chic high school freshman, she needed to speed up the change."

Now, the three sentences (fragments or not) have been combined into one independent clause. It reads well enough, I suppose, but the effect is so much stronger in the sentence fragment example.

The second sentence might read:

"It's just that this instance -- the one time that everything was destined to go wrong -- it did. I suppose I should stop trying to make the best of things."

Obviously I added a few words to make the second clause a complete sentence, but the flow seems to be lacking now that the fragment is a complete sentence. When writing dialogue, as these two cases present, you should most certainly write like people talk. It will lend an air of credibility and identity to your piece, as readers will be able to believe and identify with your characters all that much more through their conversational tone.

In terms of using sentence fragments incorrectly, examples might be on the order of the following:

She was going to the park. To play on the monkey bars.
The tree was about to be cut down. For the holiday season.
The car was stalled. Because there was no gas in it.

In all three of these examples, the fragment sentences fail to rely on the importance of grammar. They are in desperate need of completion. They are merely phrases, and not clauses, so they can be combined with the independent part of the sentence to read like so:

She was going to the park to play on the monkey bars.
The tree was about to be cut down for the upcoming holiday season.
The car was stalled because there was no gas in it.

Notice that the complete sentences that the fragments have changed into do not find a need for commas. However, if you flip the sentences around and possibly add a conjunction or two, commas can be added, and the sentences would read:

So she could play on the monkey bars, she was going to the park.
For the upcoming holiday season, the tree was about to be cut down.
Because there was no gas in it, the car was stalled.

The importance of grammar and the appropriate use of sentence fragments are beneficial for all writers to know and understand. Creative writing allows for more use of sentence fragments to express your writing in an engaging way. However, when writing formal research papers or anything of that sort, be sure to stick to conventional grammar rules. They will serve you best in those cases. When in doubt, it is always best to stick to convention; however, if your writing flows more clearly, strongly, and creatively, use common sense and make your grammar rules fit the purposes you need them to fit. Let them work for you instead of against you, and I assure you a stylistically appropriate outcome.

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