Good GRIEF! I am up to my eyes in it just now. I have little more than a week to get my MS scrubbed up for CPs, and today I read the whole thing on the kindle for the first time.
Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear! I have so much work to do, it’s a little frightening. I also have a ton of research to wad through, and a bunch of other ‘life’ things to deal with. Bleurgh. I hate it when life gets in the way of important things, like writing.
Oh well. Least I have my yoga to keep me sane. I’ve finished my 30 day challenge and have now started an eight-week program (http://www.doyogawithme.com/yoga_programs) Should be fun.
This will be me in eight weeks.
While everything’s a bit mental here at The Desk, I thought I’d have a wee natter about grammar.
Some say grammar doesn’t matter. Others jump down your neck for using an erroneous apostrophe. Using they in the singular?! Are you mad, man!
For me, it’s all about trying, striving for the best. Writers need to know their language – they should be experts, but it’s a long journey. Even if I’ve posted about a grammatical rule, even if I know what should be right, I still make mistakes. And you should hear me speak! Once you get past the accent, my chat is littered with errors. Littered, I tell you!
But it’s not about being perfect. It’s not about criticising others.
It’s about striving to be better in what you do, to be an expert in the field you’re working in, to learn and share and grow as a writer.
I believe pernickety grammar rules are important. I believe it’s important to know why you use ‘might’ or ‘that’ or ‘will’ in certain circumstances. Yeah, you’ll make mistakes even after the most thorough edit, but as long as you’re willing to keep learning, then you’re on the right track.
Anyone see the Ali G film? Anyway, Ali sends a text in text speak, but no one can understand what he’s trying to say so he has to translate.
No one wants to be like Ali G. Grammar, punctuation and spelling aid communication. They help convey a message, help get a point across, and help save lives!
If you’re a writer, you should care. If writers don’t care about preserving the rules of language, then we’re doomed to a future of txt spk.
