Writing

English was always my favorite and best subject in school (well except when I went to college and I seemed to really shine in cafeteria as in "oh I don’t feel like going to Intro to Dramatic Lit – let’s hang in the cafeteria instead…").  I’ve often said if I had to do it over again I would have become a linguist and really study the English language and it’s origins.

Instead my career, such as it is, took a different route.  I actually sort of ended up doing what I do (corporate training) because I had a stint writing procedural documentation for the company.  I realize that sounds really really boring but I actually liked it.  I would take a bunch of nonsensical documents, checklists, oral dictation and jottings on napkins and turn them into viable standard operating procedures.  I loved grasping the subject and documenting it in a way that was understandable by anyone.  Creating training isn’t all that different.  You just get to throw in pictures now and then.  Probably why I’m liking this blogging business so much.

  I do rely heavily on some crutches.  This is one of them.  Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English by Patricia T. O’Connor. 

Another staple in any writer’s library is Strunk & White’s Elements of Style.  I suppose everyone knows that though.  I still have my much dog-earred copy that I bought in 1978 (when I was two and just learning how to write….).

But really my biggest crutch is the constant rereading and strutiny of my entries for errors.  I’m sure I don’t catch them all.  But thank goodness you can go back and edit – that’s all I’m saying.

For fun I am currently reading The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.  Not necessarily the best book ever written but certainly entertaining and occasionally she turns a phrase that is just so pretty I have to stop and reread it.  "A story so cherished it had to be dressed in casualness to disguise its significance in case the listener turned out to be unsympathetic."  Can’t you just feel so clearly what the author means?  Why can’t I write like that?  I fear my style is, well, somewhat procedural sounding.  Or dull.  Sorry faithful readers.  I’m trying to improve. 

Anne Lamotte’s book on writing, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life has plenty of nuggets of fabulous advice but the one that sticks out the most – and I’m totally paraphrasing – is to just plonk it all out on paper (or screen, as the case may be) and then go back and edit edit edit.  This advice has served me well both professionally and personally.  Just get it all out and then go back and take out what you don’t need, add what you do.  There.  Your point is now across.

I’m going to post this now.  Then update it a gazillion times as I catch my typos and errors.  Feel free to point any out.  I’m the sort that is grateful for that kind of thing.  You know, "excuse me – you have a big green thing stuck in your teeth" only in this case it’s inappropriate use of apostrophes or spelling definitely incorrectly (my personal pet peeve).  You all can watch my back.

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