commas, semicolons, full stops and other decisions, such as when a sentence becomes a run-on and if said run-on is actually part of one's style and is effective in getting one's point across

I've always been a fan of writers who toss out the rules.  It's a delicate balance, of course, because a complete disregard for structure can be counterproductive.  But once the basics are mastered, to me a unique style is truly achieved when a writer finds their own rhythm and that includes tossing out a rule or two.

Take this article from Throw Grammar from the Train.  Jane Austen is famous for her semicolons and... although I enjoy it, it seems many writers have debated her accuracy and/or appropriateness in using said punctuation mark.

Take another example:  the run-on sentence.  Sometimes a run-on is a very effective tool, as in dialogue when attempting to convey a character's anxiety or excitement, or in narrative when attempting to convey the mood or atmosphere of a group or scene.

I confess I haven't read many of the "greats" lately; I was exposed to too much Dickens, Hawthorne and Shakespeare at too young of an age and now prefer, for instance, early Stephen King.  But I know they gave me a foundation on which to base my departure from what is considered proper writing into what I consider My writing.