So, I'm sure most of you have heard of the term, 'grammar police'. For those of you that haven't, it's pretty much a term used to describe those of us who like to 'pick at' and 'point out' any grammar and spelling mistakes we make when writing. I wanted to do a post on this because I've been discussing it in my head all night, and I want to know people's opinions on this matter. "Why have you been discussing this in your head?" you may ask. Well, it's because, for some reason, and I don't know whether it's something that has gotten worse in the past couple of months, but I've been seeing it more and more lately, mostly on blogs and social media platforms, and so on.
My question is, why do you think, or why do you, if it's something you do yourself, do you feel the need to attack, or belittle someone else when they make a miniscule mistake in spelling and grammar?
My question is, why do you think, or why do you, if it's something you do yourself, do you feel the need to attack, or belittle someone else when they make a miniscule mistake in spelling and grammar?
Okay, okay, so some of you may be thinking, well, why not? Especially if it is someone who is apparently offering help to writers, is a published author, a journalist, etc. Well, no, because, even editors make mistakes, right?
And the amount of 'policing' going on is ridiculous. Example, I follow the Daily Mirror's page on Facebook. A few weeks back, they'd shared an article, and the journalist had miss-spelt a word. I don't remember the exact word they had miss-spelt, but I did notice it straight away myself. I looked at the comments below, and I'm sure my eyes looked like a pair of flying saucers. Now, this article was about an awful incident where a few people had lost their lives, and I'd say at least 40 percent of the comments were targeted at the journalist, and the Daily Mirror as a company, for misspelling a word.
Some people were even throwing abuse in there, not once giving any comment on the actual subject. How does one miss-spelt word affect the entire credibility of a company? How does it take away from the seriousness of a subject? Yes, perhaps if the whole article was miss-spelt and grammatically incorrect all over the place, then, maybe someone would have a point. But one spelling mistake? And, even though one person had already pointed it out, and others could clearly see that, people still continued to point it out.
The best part about reading those comments was, at least one in every ten of the replies that were condemning and belittling the journalist of the article, couldn't manage to spell correctly themselves.
Which brings me to my first point: If you're going to criticize someone else for using bad spelling, grammar or punctuation, at least have the common sense to make sure yours is flawless!
You don't see an author like J.K Rowling attacking her Twitter followers for spelling a word incorrectly. Because, you know, she's probably far too busy writing, and she probably looks at it as what it is, a typo. That's all it is people, a typo. It doesn't mean that person should lose all credibility as a writer! This is why authors have editors. No one's perfect.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying ALL people who comment on a post to point out an error are 'grammar police' or 'trolling'. If someone was to post on my blog and say, 'Hey, Stacey, just thought I'd let you know, in case you haven't noticed, you've spelt this word wrong.' Then that's cool. Awesome. Thanks for spotting that and letting me know. Those sorts of people I'm grateful for. Because even with my own novels, I read and re-read and never spot typos others seem to catch.
It's the ones who are arrogant, and purposely try to belittle and chastise others for making such a small error. You know, the ones who say things like 'Excuse me, but you're calling yourself a writer, and you've spelt this word wrong' and then go on to tell you how you're going to lose credibility, and that no one is going to take you or your article/blog/book seriously when you make errors. (And I bet you, nine times out of ten, if you go ahead and look at this persons Facebook page, for example, they will have typos here there and everywhere) Because most of the time, the ones doing the trolling are far from perfect themselves.
So, please, if you're a writer, a blogger, a journalist etc, don't take these troll's comments to heart. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone types a little too fast for their own good sometimes. Everyone reads and re-reads and still misses little things here and there. As I said before, this is why writers have editors and beta-readers. Do you think all these best selling authors submit their manuscripts with absolutely no errors? No. Not at all. Of course, if your posting a blog, submitting a manuscript or writing an article, do try your best to spot what errors you can and fix them up. But don't beat yourself up, or let others beat you down over a few mistakes. All you have to do is concentrate on what you're doing - concentrate on your writing and making it the best it can be - don't let trolls turn you into a perfectionist who wastes more time trying to make something flawless than concentrating on getting your work out there!
There is no such thing as perfection. Someone is always going to find something wrong. What one person views as a brilliant piece of work, another will view as rubbish.
Typos slip in! Grammatical and punctuational errors slip in! Hell, I'm looking back up my screen as I type this and there's red lines everywhere! Yes, because I'm typing fast. And even after fixing what I notice, there's probably still going to be something I've missed. But that's OKAY. It's not the end of the world. If an agent liked your writing and loved your book, and was certain they could sell it to a publisher, do you think that agent would fob you off because you had a few typos? No. Again, that's why editors exist.
Anyway, basic points of the blog : Grammar trolls are just that, trolls. Ignore them. Grammar trolls are not perfect - they also make mistakes. They are self-important and have a stinky attitude that belongs in the bin.
So, please, if you really feel the need to point out an error, say it nicely. Do so because you want to help the person, not berate them.
If you are one of those people who like to belittle others, then, what can I say? You mustn't value your time. I mean, surely you could be using your time more efficiently, especially if you call yourself a writer.
What do you guys think?
Keep writing, and never give up :)
And the amount of 'policing' going on is ridiculous. Example, I follow the Daily Mirror's page on Facebook. A few weeks back, they'd shared an article, and the journalist had miss-spelt a word. I don't remember the exact word they had miss-spelt, but I did notice it straight away myself. I looked at the comments below, and I'm sure my eyes looked like a pair of flying saucers. Now, this article was about an awful incident where a few people had lost their lives, and I'd say at least 40 percent of the comments were targeted at the journalist, and the Daily Mirror as a company, for misspelling a word.
Some people were even throwing abuse in there, not once giving any comment on the actual subject. How does one miss-spelt word affect the entire credibility of a company? How does it take away from the seriousness of a subject? Yes, perhaps if the whole article was miss-spelt and grammatically incorrect all over the place, then, maybe someone would have a point. But one spelling mistake? And, even though one person had already pointed it out, and others could clearly see that, people still continued to point it out.
The best part about reading those comments was, at least one in every ten of the replies that were condemning and belittling the journalist of the article, couldn't manage to spell correctly themselves.
Which brings me to my first point: If you're going to criticize someone else for using bad spelling, grammar or punctuation, at least have the common sense to make sure yours is flawless!
You don't see an author like J.K Rowling attacking her Twitter followers for spelling a word incorrectly. Because, you know, she's probably far too busy writing, and she probably looks at it as what it is, a typo. That's all it is people, a typo. It doesn't mean that person should lose all credibility as a writer! This is why authors have editors. No one's perfect.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying ALL people who comment on a post to point out an error are 'grammar police' or 'trolling'. If someone was to post on my blog and say, 'Hey, Stacey, just thought I'd let you know, in case you haven't noticed, you've spelt this word wrong.' Then that's cool. Awesome. Thanks for spotting that and letting me know. Those sorts of people I'm grateful for. Because even with my own novels, I read and re-read and never spot typos others seem to catch.
It's the ones who are arrogant, and purposely try to belittle and chastise others for making such a small error. You know, the ones who say things like 'Excuse me, but you're calling yourself a writer, and you've spelt this word wrong' and then go on to tell you how you're going to lose credibility, and that no one is going to take you or your article/blog/book seriously when you make errors. (And I bet you, nine times out of ten, if you go ahead and look at this persons Facebook page, for example, they will have typos here there and everywhere) Because most of the time, the ones doing the trolling are far from perfect themselves.
So, please, if you're a writer, a blogger, a journalist etc, don't take these troll's comments to heart. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone types a little too fast for their own good sometimes. Everyone reads and re-reads and still misses little things here and there. As I said before, this is why writers have editors and beta-readers. Do you think all these best selling authors submit their manuscripts with absolutely no errors? No. Not at all. Of course, if your posting a blog, submitting a manuscript or writing an article, do try your best to spot what errors you can and fix them up. But don't beat yourself up, or let others beat you down over a few mistakes. All you have to do is concentrate on what you're doing - concentrate on your writing and making it the best it can be - don't let trolls turn you into a perfectionist who wastes more time trying to make something flawless than concentrating on getting your work out there!
There is no such thing as perfection. Someone is always going to find something wrong. What one person views as a brilliant piece of work, another will view as rubbish.
Typos slip in! Grammatical and punctuational errors slip in! Hell, I'm looking back up my screen as I type this and there's red lines everywhere! Yes, because I'm typing fast. And even after fixing what I notice, there's probably still going to be something I've missed. But that's OKAY. It's not the end of the world. If an agent liked your writing and loved your book, and was certain they could sell it to a publisher, do you think that agent would fob you off because you had a few typos? No. Again, that's why editors exist.
Anyway, basic points of the blog : Grammar trolls are just that, trolls. Ignore them. Grammar trolls are not perfect - they also make mistakes. They are self-important and have a stinky attitude that belongs in the bin.
So, please, if you really feel the need to point out an error, say it nicely. Do so because you want to help the person, not berate them.
If you are one of those people who like to belittle others, then, what can I say? You mustn't value your time. I mean, surely you could be using your time more efficiently, especially if you call yourself a writer.
What do you guys think?
Keep writing, and never give up :)