I just read a post by a highly respected and profitable blogger in which he gave hints on how to improve your blog writing. It contained grammatical errors, non-sentences, and repetitive phrases. All of these were "no-no's" when I was in school. Miss Auchmoody and Mrs. Brooks (two of my English/grammar teachers) would have turned over while reading that post as published work.
Yet in the comments section of the blog, readers were full of praise for the post. Yes, it did have good hints for making one's posts more exciting. Nevertheless, I found it difficult to wade through the information because of the poor grammar. (Perhaps that's the editor in me, although today's editors in print and online publishing often don't seem to consider grammar either.)
However, this person, whose work I read today, is considered a very, very successful blogger who makes extremely good money at it.
So....do we need to forget the rules of grammar in today's world? With blogging, text messaging, and social media abbreviations, correct spelling and sentence structure seem to have been forgotten.
Do I need to loosen up and forget all I've been taught in order to be a successful, and profitable blogger/writer? Something to think about. But I find it difficult to let go and become part of the group that's perpetuating poor grammar for future generations.
Does anyone use S
trunk and White's Elements of Style
any more? Or William Zinsser's On Writing Well
?
2 comments:
I am guilty as charged. I am dependent on the spell checker (which also makes mistakes) and quite often, I am typing so fast that I don't catch my mistakes.
But I think that quality, itself, has taken a plunge in today's writing world.
Thanks, Mary, for stopping by and giving your insight. I find, too, that I type so fast without bothering to proofread, that I let more mistakes get by than I once did. But I try to catch them and turn out only quality work, setting an example as a writer. For text messages to a friend, all of us use shortcuts. However, for all the world to see, I still like to write something I'm proud of.
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