Category Archives: writing

Write right

When I was in college, studying Journalism, I had a professor who demanded perfect grammar (AP style, if I remember correctly) in any correspondence you had with him. If you had a misspelled word or improper verb tense use, he’d simply email it back to you without a response and leave you to find the error before he’d answer your question. This could go on for multiple emails until you figured out your mistake!

I remember grumbling about that. What was the big deal, anyway?

Almost 10 years out of college, and I find myself becoming more and more like my professor every day.

Now, backtrack even further in life. I was perhaps 10 or 12 when a co-worker of my Mom’s presented me with this:

AB, CDEDBD Ducks?

MR Not Ducks

OSAR

CDEDBD Wings?

YIB! MR Ducks!

I was frustrated and annoyed by the puzzle in front of me. Oh, haha. See the itty bitty ducks. I get it.  Through the years, I’d get a kick out of word puzzles. I like to challenge my brain, and work at deciphering what is being “said.”

I do NOT like doing that kind of work to read a text or a tweet, and therein lies where I am more like my professor every day.

Last week, I received notification of a new Twitter follower. A reporter here in Nashville had started to follow my Twitter feed. I clicked to look at their feed, and I promptly broke out in hives. Figuratively speaking at least. I did weep some.

Every tweet was filled with things like, “Thank U.” or, “U R why we do our job.” “Going 2 B on at 6. Will U watch?”  (OKay, I am making up these tweets, but you get the idea.)  Needless to say, I did NOT follow back. I was tempted to direct message and tell this person they were an idiot. But I didn’t.

I have, though, been known to just flat out not respond to text messages filled with “R U” and “C U” or “U 2” stuff. If it takes me five minutes to decipher a text, you’ve officially annoyed me and I’m going to ignore you.

Perhaps I should just start sending texts back to the sender until they figure out that taking the time to add a couple extra letters (or use predictive text!) will actually get me to respond to their question. Hmmm…

I happen to love the written word. The fact that I have a degree in a field that requires writing skills is something I am proud of having. I am protective of that written word. Today, though, respect for the written word is low. Our new ways of writing have bastardized it so badly that I am amazed by the lack of communication skills I see on social media sites. (And, yes, I am guilty of judging a person’s intelligence based on how they write. I admit it.)

someecards.com - Thanks to the teachers who instilled in me such a love of English that I'm perpetually mortified when reading the Internet.
So what can I do about it? Just keep refusing to fall into the trap, I guess, and hope that others who are determined to keep up the proper way of writing will outshine those who don’t.

Disclaimer: I understand Twitter has a character limit that forces such short hand in some cases. It’s when there are plenty of characters left and the “shorthand” is used that I get ticked.

Life Well Lived: Joy through blogging

Its time for another Life Well Lived Getting Happy panel!

This time, we want to hear more from our readers. How does blogging, journaling, writing and connecting online help to increase your happiness?

On April 15, 2001, I started a journal on the LiveJournal website. Eleven years later, I still have that journal.

Writing is, to me, free therapy. It allows me to get all my feelings out “on paper,” analyze them, and then decide where to go from there. In the 11 years that I’ve had my journal, its seen me through college, jobs, heartbreak, moving, and marriage. It’s heard me sob about loss. It’s heard me squeal in glee about successes. And its even heard me ramble about any given new obsession I may have at the time.

I happen to genuinely enjoy writing, which is where blogging comes in for me. My journal is for personal life. My blog is for my love of writing. Writing gives me joy. I love words. I love painting a photo with words. I love telling a story, making someone think, or describing something.

Writing makes me happy. Be it just to write or for therapeutic purposes, it doesn’t matter. It’s a joy. What about you? How does blogging, journaling, writing and connecting online help to increase your happiness? Leave your thoughts here and/or join me in the discussion on the main page for this topic on BlogHer. Also, don’t miss your chance to win an iPod Touch and a $50 iTunes gift certificate to go with it in thecurrent Life Well Lived Sweepstakes!