34 The thing I find atrocious about blogging as a publishing medium is that it lacks a proper editing software. There's a flawed system that checks grammar and spelling but the wide spread usage of slang, short forms, and uncommon names on this blog makes that particular software useless. With Microsoft Word there is at least an option to add a particular word to the dictionary which is great and makes up for the fact it is an equally as flawed system, a fact I find myself extremely aware of thanks to a linguistics class essay I wrote that helped me pass the class in first year uni (thank you writing gift).
I found myself look back at some of my old blog entries, extremely embarrassed to find small errors I wasn't the least bit aware of till recently and dear readers I sincerely apologize. Blogging is a means of expression that's a stream of consciousness style therefore some technicalities are excusable but the same rules still apply. This blog entry is a pledge to edit better and write as best as possibly can. I first started this blog as a means of getting my writing out into the public sphere, as a reaction to a personal hunger to develop an audience for my writing. I know that all the influential people who may have my short and long term future in their hands are probably reading. Seeing those small errors was a source of panic as a result of that. Readers, I hope to encourage you to edit better and more carefully and write as best as you possibly can. It doesn't matter who you are, it's impossible to avoid the fact that we live in a society where literacy and effective writing skills are valued and respected.
Now for my own philosophy on editing: writing that uses an abundance of big words rather than simple language that's more familiar and reader friendly isn't good writing. So please promise to be the individual who chooses to be reader friendly rather than the person who uses language as a means of showing off their intelligence to the whole world. If you don't know what I mean read the first couple of chapters of William Zinsser's On Writing Well and pick up copies of John Steinbeck's and Hemingway's fiction to figure out how to use simple, straightforward language effectively and cut out the fat and frill of what you're writing. Often it's the writing that says more with less that sticks with the reader and is significantly stronger.
I hope you can find this entry helpful and choose to join me in my goal to edit and write better. I'm currently making changes to old entries. I have no idea if this is considered unusual due to the fact I learned about blogging on my own.
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