I am a pedant. This declaration will not come as a great surprise to anyone who knows me well. I can't cope with misplaced apostrophes, checkouts catering especially for those wishing to purchase "ten items or less" and the popular notion that the words "definitely" and "defiantly" are interchangeable. It irritates me beyond measure when I open the Guardian and am
confronted immediately by one of its infamous typographical errors, or
when I read a book which appears to have been edited by someone paying
simultaneous and considerable attention to a particularly gripping
episode of Homeland. Correct spelling, punctuation and grammar means so much to me that I am seriously thinking about becoming a professional proofreader, since I might as well put this obsessive-compulsive disorder of mine to good use.Since the arrival of the Alot in my life, I've tried to poke fun at my inner nitpicker, and to refrain from an excessive display of public pedantry whenever I can manage to rein myself in. However, when the time comes for me to send an email or publish a blog post or write a formal letter, the need for perfection reaches new and frankly absurd heights. I am far harder on myself than I am on anyone else when it comes to spelling, punctuation and grammar, and not only dither and fuss over and reread every word I write but then proceed to check and check again and - in the case of blog posts or Facebook statuses - scrutinise my text repeatedly in case I've made a glaringly obvious error somewhere. And this habit of mine is really a bit of a hindrance, to be honest. It causes me not only to waste time that could be better spent, but also to water and fertilise the seeds of doubt which are already embedded so abundantly and deeply in my mind. What if I send something out into the world which is littered with mistakes? What will people think of me? I'm supposed to be a writer!
I'm on day 5 of Jeff Goins' writing challenge, and today's post is entitled prepare. The focus is on the difference between procrastinating and preparing. I absolutely recognise in myself the tendency that Jeff describes: to stall and to wait for perfect, all the while letting good pass me by. And I know that my endless fiddling about with emails and blog posts and anything else I happen to write is a clear indication of insecurity and a deep-rooted belief that if something isn't perfect, it's not worth anything at all.
Today we've been challenged to ship something, get feedback, make it better and repeat until our project is finally ready to launch. I mentioned on Friday that I'm working at the moment on a guide to a recently-composed symphonic song cycle, and I'm currently grappling with the notion of its ideal length. I'm aiming for 100,000 words, and have so far passed the 20,000 word mark without feeling that I am anywhere near a fifth of the way through my total task. I feel I can't possibly ship such a fragmented and disjointed piece of writing in anyone's direction at present, but have fortunately got another piece of writing in the pipeline: a guest post on a friend's blog, over which I've been mulling since last week. I think I've finally sketched out an overview in my mind, and plan to email my preliminary thoughts out to my friend later today. This evening, I'll be preparing to ship something, and I'll be aiming not to procrastinate. Like every other writing challenge with which I've been hitherto issued, this will push me a little further out of my area of comfort and edge me closer to developing a set of good writing habits.
Time to get started! Bye for now.
Ha ha - your first two paragraphs are absolutely hilarious. I'm exactly the same - I check my facebook posts too! Where I am different from (different FROM not different TO I have to say, with a wince directed at those who thoughtlessly abuse the poor word different) you is that I can't even begin to imagine having the self-discipline to write 20,000 words, let alone 100,000. Where on earth do you find the time with two small children? You are truly amazing. Much love from a fellow pedant xxx
ReplyDeleteLovely post! - it's great how everyone's beginning to be able to work within the challenges and make use of the ideas to do the thing which will most benefit them.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it strange how we can be so hard on ourselves? I have the same problem of not wanting to share anything unless it's perfectly written, spelt, punctuated and constructed, and yet I don't notice it in other people's work to anything like the same degree. Good to be reminded good is sometimes good enough!
Keep going - let me know when and where the guest blogpost will appear xx
Ooh, totally agreeing about the treatment of the word different - every time I see "different to" I hear my late mother saying "different FROM". I'm seeing a lot of "different than" as well at the moment, which is just confusing if you try and think about it too hard!
ReplyDeleteCan I offer a very different perspective which I feel is in the spirit of Fi's blog. It isn't meant to be a moan but in the spirit of inclusivity I share my perspective.
ReplyDeleteThis conversation is frankly beyond my grasp & it terrifies me. I don't get the jokes about misplaced apostrophes because I have no idea where they should be in the 1st place. I am not an idiot but a dyslexic. I have had to come to terms with the fact that as a dyslexic my spelling, punctuation & grammar are all over the place & however hard I try I seem to be incapable of seeing or retaining the rules by which all these things operate. Most people think I am quite intelligent when they meet me until I send them an e-mail or write their phone number out backwards.
I have had to come to terms with the fact that when I write I will make mistakes. If I wanted to send out perfect FB statuses I would have to employ a proof reader. It is hard to know you don't come across brilliantly in writing and I spent a childhood and most of my teen years with my parents pain staking correcting every mistake I made on my homework (not knowing I was dyslexic at this stage didn't help). It was exhausting and demoralizing because to do these things as a dyslexic takes so much energy in the 1st place. Did you know that for a dyslexic to read in their own language uses the same amount of brain activity and energy as a normal person does to read a foreign language? To write and fret about every little mistake would consume all my time and energy. I could choose to retreat from all written communications but then I would be missing out on so much. The fact is that I can make myself understood my spelling is kind of logical if not correct & most of the time I try not to think about how it might come across because it is embarrassing. Generally people are too polite to correct all my errors (or just don't have the time). I started by saying this conversation is terrifying because it is this pedantic fretting over commas or whatever that is completely other worldly to me & beyond my grasp. It leads me to believe that my comprehension is so far behind I really ought never to write another thing that I couldn’t possibly contribute because I would communicate it incorrectly. Actually I choose to believe we are most approachable to others when we show our own frailty and make ourselves vulnerable. Can I urge you to stop fretting about these tiny marks on paper & occasionally send something out into the world that isn't checked over 100x because actually when we allow our communications to have mistakes in them they are more truthful reflections of ourselves as imperfect people.
Sometimes I see my dyslexia has a burden and I am embarrassed and frustrated by it but sometimes I think it's a great thing to be blind to misplaced commas and apostrophes. However when I read about other people who value correct spelling and mock the incorrect placement of an apostrophe I feel embarrassed again and like retreating from the conversation.
Like I say I offer this as my perspective and do not mean to diminish your genuine feelings about this subject. I can also see you having fun with it & that’s good. I so admire your beautiful writing Fi it is to be valued as it is a gift, do not wish in any way to detract from that.