My sister Mary posted this article on Facebook earlier today. I decided to share it here because I found its observations kind of reassuring.
You see, knowing that F. Scott Fitzgerald was an atrocious speller somehow makes me feel better about the many embarrassing errors in punctuation, grammar, syntax, structure, and yes, spelling you’re likely to encounter on this blog. (Because Fitzgerald and I are basically literary equals.)
Though I’ve written professionally before, I’m not a professional writer. Accordingly, much of what you read on this blog is bound to be littered with my amateurish sins against our lovely language. (And don't rule out the occasional factual error.)
For those who notice these things, let me thank you in advance for your indulgence. For those who don’t care about these things, Sarah Palin thanks you for buying her books.
And anyway, isn’t all this Englishy stuff what editors are for? (Wait, I mean, “Isn’t all this Englishy stuff the reason for which editors are needed?” Damn prepositions. I suck at this.)
And I look forward to sharing my next awkwardly constructed and error-ridden post with you!
Hey Dan! Thanks for the mention.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking a bit more about this post. I realized that as I write more, I sincerely appreciate that many of us now treat grammatical errors with "winks and nods." Certain grammatical errors still make me wince (damn dangling prepositions), but I also feel like knowing when it's ok to bend or break the rules allows you to develop your voice.
All through school, I was way to worried about breaking the rules to think about my writing voice. Now, I feel pretty liberated by realizing it's ok to use contractions in a blog post, or most blog posts.
Thanks again Bro!
I totally hear ya on prepositions- I can never figure those bastards out!
ReplyDeleteI think the most important thing is to get your voice across. Really, all the other stuff is just nuance. Adam and I always disagree on whether a sentence needs a comma or not.
I guess I agree with Mary's comment, now that I read it! When I read some of your posts, I get a little bit jealous because I think you are much better writer! But, then I realize that we have completely different points of view/interests/voices. You are Dan. I am Jen. We are great! Haha!