27 comments on “Your writing is killing your writing

  1. High School English class was a long time ago, so thanks for the refresher. If people are going to think I’m an idiot, I’d prefer that it is because they disagree with my content, rather than because of a grammatical faux pas!

    Evan´s last blog post..Garlic Pork Chops

  2. I know sometimes on my blogs, I write “you’re” instead of “your”, etc., ’cause I’m in a hurry–or just ’cause I’m really tired when I’m writing it. Please don’t shoot me!

    *runs and ducks*

    ;-)
    Michele

    P.S. I see what you’re saying, though. Those are simple things to catch if we’re paying attention!! :-)

    Michele´s last blog post..Exciting News for Healing with (Raw) Juices!!!

  3. Hey Evan – I’ve got a whole collection of reasons why people think I’m an idiot. I can email you the file, but it’s like 14 gigs.

    George

  4. Kush,

    That’s why I think it’s important to not stress too much over it. As long as you’re comfy with your voice and it connects to your readers. Minimizing mistakes does give any writing that you do a more professional appearance, but like I said, go with what works for you.

    George

  5. Really solid advice here. Great post.

    My biggest struggle with grammar up until this point is dealing with subject-verb agreement. There are a lot of subtle rules within it. It’s simply not always easy to apply correctly.

    I really admire you George. The Joker, one of the creepiest entities alive holds your picture and yet you still have a giant smile on your face. Pretty amazing!

    I could picture you going up against Godzilla or something with that kind of countenance on your face. You would truly confuse the adversary.

    Bamboo Forest – PunIntended´s last blog post..The Art of Artery Clogging: A Recipe

  6. My mom used to be the editor of our newspaper so she really drilled spelling and grammar into me since I was a kid. That doesn’t stop me from giving less than two craps about being perfect. I don’t write fiction, so I don’t fret if I don’t have proper punctuation and all that jazz. I do my best to get it right, but I write how I talk, and sometimes it comes out a little strange cause I’m a weirdo.

    I do however notice when other writers make mistakes, and one that really bothers me is using “a” before a word that starts with a vowel. Like a apple.

    Cassie´s last blog post..Media Temple – Web hosting that kicks ass

  7. Nice tips. I’ve taken many English classes, and my grandmother was an English professor so I try so hard to polish up my grammar, but every once in a while I’ll slip up or fall into some silly writing habit. A think more posts like this would really help!

    Brittany´s last blog post..Saturday Sprinkles 02.21.09

  8. Bamboo,

    You are so nice to say that! My engagement with Godzilla is scheduled for next week. I’ll try and get more pix!

    I appreciate you coming by, Ryan.

    George

  9. Dee,

    Oh yeah. Totally helpful!

    The whole your and you’re thing is the granddaddy, I think.

    I reword sentences all of the time to make something fit for me.

    Cheers!

    George

  10. Cassie,

    Let me just say that you ROCK! That is exactly the right attitude. You’ve got your voice, you’re happy with it and you just get out there and write.

    Most impressive.

    Come back again, ok?

    George

  11. Hi Brittany,

    Thanks for the feedback. I do think I may make this a regular kind of thing. I fall into habits as well. A few months back I was proofing a post before I published the darn thing and it was LITTERED with commas. They were everywhere! I fixed it I think, but I really pay attention to that kind of thing now.

    George

  12. Heh, the adverbs thing reminded me of grammar school writing when our teachers would encourage us to use them. I guess they figured that after all the work of teaching us what they were, we should use them and our stories would be full of people sadly or merrily or loudly saying all sorts of things.

    My problem? I am the queen of run on sentences. My habit is to just write and write and write and throw in some random dashes and semi-colons, perhaps some parenthetical statements, but periods? Oh, am I stingy with the full stops.

    Tracy´s last blog post..Shangri-La Diet Week 2.5

  13. Your comments about perfectionism remind me of Anne Lamott’s words: “Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you insame your whole life.” Don’t let fears of not writing perfectly grammatical sentences paralyze you!

    Great summary of grammar, George — and what an interesting picture! :-)

    Laurie

  14. Hi Meryl,

    Yeah, from the mouths of babes. It’s kind of funny. I sub teach and a lot of the 4th and 5th graders really do understand their grammar. I think high school and hormones must make grammar skills go away.

    George

  15. Yay! Laurie, I’m glad to see you here.

    Those perfectionists (external or internal) can put a damper on our writing. It’s great advice I think to not be intimidated by perfection.

    And personally, I like that pic too. It perfectly portrays this post, IMHO.

    George

  16. Pingback: Links: March out Little Lamb Edition | Meryl.net

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