I'm in a pissy mood today (long story), and instead of spending another second considering my own pathetic and disappointing place in the world, I thought I'd turn my thoughts to people who annoy me. It's better that way, and it helps me feel better about myself. I think my parents taught me this.
ANYWAY: Is there anything worse than people who insist on correcting grammar, punctuation, usage, etc etc in emails, message boards, online chats, and similar modes of communication? Seriously, these people are the lowest form of humanity, right? And I'm not talking about a Business email or something, I'm talking garden variety recreational missives. My grammar needs to be perfect there? Really? When did this start? Am I supposed to start speaking in the King's English, too? These grammar mavens are intellectually on par with your average jellyfish. To correct someone's spelling on a message board is the last defense of those who have no defense. Hey, if I want to read what the nerds have to say about the Lost finale, I don't need to get bogged down while some idiot goes on a rampage concerning misused pronouns. IT'S A LOST MESSAGE BOARD. It's not my thesis. Jesus Christ.
And another thing: I maintain that anyone who knows a lot about grammar, usage, syntax, whatever, probably couldn't write their way out of a paper bag. If you get to the point where you're writing professionally, this is what an editor is for. This is all a result of how we are taught to write as children. I can't remember a single instance where I learned how to develop my voice, or to be creative, or to craft an intriguing narrative. No, I was too busy diagraming sentences and taking pop spelling quizzes. People who know this stuff sound like they're still working on an 8th grade term paper. The single greatest corner I ever turned as a writer was figuring out that absolutely none of this stuff matters. It's completely beside the point.
So there.
Oh, and just to hammer home what I'm rambling on about, I will officially refuse to spell check this post.
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3 comments:
I agree that the nitpicking is incredibly annoying, especially in casual forums. I'm much more interested in what people say than how they say it.
Still, I have to take exception with the second half of your post. I have worked as an editor before, and writers who have good control over grammar, spelling, and punctuation have a much better chance of having their voice and meaning left intact than those who just crap something out and leave the editor to puzzle out what they really meant.
Ok, bye!
Just to clarify, for Anonymous' sake:
I think that if you've gotten to the point where you're a working writer who has editors, then your writing isn't going to be a ton of crap that the editor will need to puzzle over to determine the meaning. If you really suck to that degree, odds are you don't have an editor.
All I can say is that I probably know less about grammar, usage, etc than most intelligent people I know...yet I'm the guy with three books published. Does this actually mean anything? Maybe it does.
Interesting to know.
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