That’s nuts!
Photo Credit: Doree Weller
Dear Other Writers,
It seems like everyone who has anything to say these days says it in a public forum, whether that’s blogging or Facebook, or Twitter or self-publishing a book.
Through blog challenges, I’ve had an opportunity to read other people’s work, and it’s been a mixed experience. Some of these blogs are hidden jewels that I wouldn’t have found if I weren’t doing blog challenges. They’re well written, interesting, and I keep going back for more.
Other blogs have a ton of basic issues, jumping back and forth between present and past tense, poor grammar, and poor punctuation. It’s to the writers of these blogs that I’m addressing myself.
Even if you don’t think I’m talking about you, I might be. I’ve been there. Early on, when I made the transition from writing for myself to trying to get things published, I thought it was going to be easy because I was “naturally” a writer. Words just seemed to flow from my brain to paper, and I thought that every word I wrote was golden.
Um, no.
I wasn’t sure why I wasn’t getting published, so I decided to find an online critique website, and I started using Reviewfuse (which I think is now defunct as it won’t load). I don’t remember what the first criticism I received was, but I do remember that it hurt. It stung. It was obviously wrong.
I almost decided not to bother with it anymore, and then my better judgement overcame my ego, and said, “You’re here, so why don’t you try taking their feedback? You can keep an unchanged copy of your story in Word.”
Thank goodness my Better Judgement speaks to me sometimes. After edits, that was the first story I ever got paid for. It was only $50, but that’s a huge amount to someone who would have written that story anyway, for free. And that also cemented it. Listen to feedback = get paid. Discard feedback = stuff sits unpublished on my computer.
I tell you this, because even if you think your writing is wonderful, it might not be. I’m not going to make unsolicited comments on your writing style when visiting your blog because it seems rude. It seems like visiting your house and mentioning the crumbs on the counter. I’m just not going to do it. But please, have someone other than your friends read your blog and give you feedback on your writing. I’d be happy to do it if you ask. Join a writers group through Meetup or online (I personally like Scribophile currently). Ask a retired English teacher or another blogger. Read articles about writing from Writer’s Digest or Query Shark. Read Stephen King’s book, On Writing.
If you just want a place to put your thoughts, keep a journal or make your blog private. I’m a huge advocate of just writing whatever you want in your journal, without worrying about grammar or punctuation or spelling. But if you’re going to publish your work, even in a blog forum, please take it seriously. Writing is a form of art, and it pains me to see you writing that way in a public setting. If you, who calls yourself writer, don’t have a basic grasp of English language rules, then what hope do we have for everyone else?
Shall I just give up and understand that evry1 is guna rite lik dis? (That hurt to type. Forgive me.)
Fellow writers (and readers too), what do you think? Am I being too dramatic, or do you agree that this is a problem?
Doree Weller 