Post by micah on Feb 14, 2010 12:56:28 GMT -5
I came across a good suggestion this morning:
"Try to write well every single time you write: I have friends who I know can write well who send me the most awful e-mail and IMs because they figure it doesn't matter how many rules of grammar and spelling they stomp on because it's just e-mail and IM. But if you actually want to be a better writer, you have to be a better writer every time you write. It won't kill you to write a complete sentence in IM or e-mail, you know. The more you do it, the better you'll get at it until it will actually be more difficult to write poorly in e-mail and IM than not (mobile text messaging I understand has more limitations. But I tend to look at text messaging as the 21st Century equivalent of semaphore, which is to say, specialized communication for specialized goals).
There really is no excuse for writing poorly in one's blog. At least with IMs and e-mail your terrifying disembowelment of the language is limited to one observer. But in your blog, you'll look stupid for the whole world to see, and it will be archived for as long as humanity remembers how to produce electricity. Maybe you don't think anyone who reads your blog will care. But I read your blog—yes indeed I do—and I care. Madly. Truly. Deeply."
From You're Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop by John Scalzi
If writers want to be taken seriously and as professionals, all of their writing should be written at a professional level. Nothing will turn readers away faster than something which is poorly written. Unfortunately, the nature of the internet is that anything you write could end up in the hands of a potential reader.
Spelling, gramar, all of those things we assume we can ignore when we are simply sending out e-mails or replying to posts could really come back and bite us on the ass. This is especially true when we are communicating in our capacity as authors (writing reviews, replying on writing/horror websites, even when sending e-mails as a representative of the GLAHW).
Keep in mind that comment/post/e-mail has your name on it. It represents your writing, is an example your ability as an author, and represents the group.
"Try to write well every single time you write: I have friends who I know can write well who send me the most awful e-mail and IMs because they figure it doesn't matter how many rules of grammar and spelling they stomp on because it's just e-mail and IM. But if you actually want to be a better writer, you have to be a better writer every time you write. It won't kill you to write a complete sentence in IM or e-mail, you know. The more you do it, the better you'll get at it until it will actually be more difficult to write poorly in e-mail and IM than not (mobile text messaging I understand has more limitations. But I tend to look at text messaging as the 21st Century equivalent of semaphore, which is to say, specialized communication for specialized goals).
There really is no excuse for writing poorly in one's blog. At least with IMs and e-mail your terrifying disembowelment of the language is limited to one observer. But in your blog, you'll look stupid for the whole world to see, and it will be archived for as long as humanity remembers how to produce electricity. Maybe you don't think anyone who reads your blog will care. But I read your blog—yes indeed I do—and I care. Madly. Truly. Deeply."
From You're Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop by John Scalzi
If writers want to be taken seriously and as professionals, all of their writing should be written at a professional level. Nothing will turn readers away faster than something which is poorly written. Unfortunately, the nature of the internet is that anything you write could end up in the hands of a potential reader.
Spelling, gramar, all of those things we assume we can ignore when we are simply sending out e-mails or replying to posts could really come back and bite us on the ass. This is especially true when we are communicating in our capacity as authors (writing reviews, replying on writing/horror websites, even when sending e-mails as a representative of the GLAHW).
Keep in mind that comment/post/e-mail has your name on it. It represents your writing, is an example your ability as an author, and represents the group.
