This is a previously published piece from my original blog on blogger.
Ok, I’ll admit it. I’m a sign reader. I am one of those people that as they drive around they find all of the grammatical and spelling mistakes on the business signs around town. I’ve done it for years and I don’t see an end to it anytime in the near future. I don’t get paid for this, but I can’t seem to stop myself from mentally correcting the offending mistakes that I see all around me everyday. Perhaps it is the editor in me.
I think that what really drives me crazy is when I see spelling and grammatical mistakes in published pieces. It is one thing to roll your eyes at a sign when you drive by, and an entirely different matter to find it done by another professional in your line of work. It makes me cringe. It is like fingernails scraping across a chalkboard. These are people who should know better.
When it comes to bad grammar, I’ve seen it all. And I don’t mean that I’ve seen it all because I’m a mom to an almost teenager. These are mistakes made by people I consider colleagues in the writing world. The incorrect uses of then and than or accept and except. The misuse of lose and loose. (C’mon people, it’s lose weight, not loose weight.) The incorrect use of edition for addition or affect for effect and vice versa. I could go on and on and on. And lest you think these are all by the same person, think again. There are several guilty offenders, although there are some who have made multiple offenses.
Now, while I am not meaning to be the grammar police, I do think that it would behoove us as writers to be very sure of what we publish. When we make mistakes such as the ones I have listed, we lose credibility. Once that is lost, it is difficult to get it back.
I know I am not perfect, nor do I pretend to be…except with my son. But this is an issue that we need to perhaps take just a little more seriously as professional writers.
Oh, my favorite mistake this past week? C’mon…laugh with me…Wendsday for Wednesday. What are some of your favorites?
Posted under Rules for Writing
This post was written by Brenda Emmett on October 2, 2008
