Today is National Grammar Day and I invited Sean Platt of Blogopolis Blueprint to guest post on the topic of grammar and blogging. Here are his words of wisdom.
Blogopolis is a giant free for all where anyone with a keyboard is free to slip in and out, unloading their thoughts on whatever topic they wish to expound upon, and in whatever method of articulation they find most suited to their individuality.
This places basic writing skills on both sides of the blade.
A full mastery of writing mechanics is by no means required. While this easy access is terrific in that anyone can hop online and wave the flag for freedom of expression, it can be a painful process for those of us who would rather our eyes wander through words that are singing with sense.
Proper punctuation are the road signs to prose. Without them in place it is far too easy to get lost.
New Rules For a New World
I agree that blogs are in no way a stolid showcase for formal writing, the format does certainly allow for lapses in syntax and grammar, and a new world does require a new set of rules. Still, any blogger who is also running a business should pay at least the slightest heed to the words upon their page. Whether we like it or not, we are continuously judged by the quality of our product. What we publish is a reflection of our intelligence. You might be the best marketer this side of Seth, but if you don’t know the difference between your and you’re, you’re going to have a more difficult time landing your leads.
I am not suggesting anyone void their prose of personality, but it is important to infuse your text with intelligence. Slang is perfectly fine in even measure, but rely on it without balance and it will be difficult to convince anyone that you are a consummate professional. It comes down to what your endgame is. If your aim is merely to entertain or journal, less attention is required, but if your full intent is to gather leads and convert those leads to income, the specificity of your syllables is important.
If you are a professional writer, you have no excuses. You must know the rules and know them well. It is difficult to cast yourself as an authority without at least a cursory mastery of mechanics.
Thousands upon thousands of people, from offbeat to brilliant to bold, beat their drums each day. There are fortunes to be made in Blogopolis, but competition is cutting. In the end, readers become fans and fans the fuel to your fortune. Those blogs that slow down enough to show their readers the respect they deserve will be those roaring fastest in the long run.
Sean Platt is a dad and freelance writer. You can grab his feed here.
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Hi Sean (and Marc, if you’re back from visiting Sean and Eric’s ‘house’…)
I love it when you guys go out blogging all round the neighbourhood!! If I now go over to Writer Dad and find Eric’s done a guest post on grammar, I’m going to go a bit giddy with delight! I’ve just been over at Blogopolis Blueprint where Marc’s done a great guest post on grammar too. I won’t bore a different set of comments readers rigid by repeating my same views here.
You’ve expressed my sentiments exactly, Sean – as a fellow wordsmith and lover of lyricism – in it’s right place – I wouldn’t have expected to hear anything else from you.
Janice’s last blog post..IAC VOICE, Volume 4, Issue 33, February 2009, Circulation: 12,792
Marc, I WISH you had Ajax Comments editor – I now want to dig myself a hole because I found an accidental ‘it’s’ instead of an ‘its’ in my comment above!! It’s one of the typos I’m most blind to on a first re-reading. Oh, the shame….
Janice’s last blog post..IAC VOICE, Volume 4, Issue 33, February 2009, Circulation: 12,792
Janice: You know what’s funny? I can edit others words just fine, but my own eyes glaze right over the most grievous of my errors. Of course I don’t mean for each and every thing I write, but it’s always nice to have someone looking out for you. I either read my work out loud to my wife (this helps me see it differently) or send my work to someone I trust to give it a once over. It’s amazing how many mistakes I make that I don’t even see.
Marc: I LOVE the picture you chose for me. Thanks! And high five on sharing your house again. UK writers are uber cool. : > )
Writer Dad’s last blog post..Bahma!
I thought you’d appreciate that photo Sean
Janice, I’ll take a look for that plugin and install it. I can’t say I’ve ever heard of a plugin to edit comments, that would be a great feature to have.
Marc: WOW, there’s a GIANT party over here!!! I’ll ask Eric what the name of the plugin is. We use it at the double B, and I know Dave uses is on Blogger Dad. I’ve been meaning to put it up at the WD for a long while, but haven’t yet. I guess now I really should in honor of Grammar Day!
Nighty night.
Writer Dad’s last blog post..Bahma!
It’s called Ajax Comments Editor and I suggested it to Eric because Mike over at BB is like me and hates to see huge glaring typos in his comments too. The odd typo still sneaks in, but it gives you five minutes to check or to rethink if you really WANT to say what just popped out!
I strive for excellent grammar. After all, if you as a blogger also want to be known as a good writer – it’s incumbent to write with good grammar.
One aspect of grammar I really find challenging is subect-verb agreement. Often times you know whether this is correct solely by sound. Other times tricky rules are in order. Many wouldn’t even catch the mistake. But still, you want to get it right.
I actually believe that subject-verb agreement is the error that most writers get wrong at times, even the best of writers. That is my theory at least.
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