I have always been someone who pays attention to proper writing. So many people are terrible spellers and lackadaisical about writing in general, and it's my opinion that it stems from sheer laziness during the formative school years; after all, it's a real drag to have to learn and memorize all those vocabulary words for spelling tests, and most kids feel they have better things to do than to learn the difference between the correct usage of there, they're and their.
But among otherwise intelligent, thinking adults, it astonishes me how lazy THEY can be about things like spelling, typing and grammar. It's as if people just don't think these things matter, when they really do. People in the highest echelons of every industry are often the worst writers, too. Maybe they think that because they have secretaries, they don't need to bother making the effort. The advent of e-mail hasn't helped matters any, either, because we're all in such a hurry that we're too busy to stop and open a flipping dictionary when we're unsure of the spelling of a word. And text messaging has taken proper writing to an all-time low. What can u expect from people who are 2 lazy 2 spell out the little words like YOU, TOO and TO?
I confess, I am a bit of a writing snob. I realize none of us (including me) are perfect about our spelling or our typing or our grammar 100% of the time (in fact, I just now mis-typed "grammar" as "grammer" and then had to go back and correct my faux pas!) And I guess if everyone else was good at spelling, etc., then I wouldn't have a freelance writing business at all. So I'm sure I should be grateful for all those sloppy spellers, taxing typists, gruesome grammarians and artless authors.
But really, is it THAT much more work to write something properly or to proofread your work after you've written it? I mean, at the very least, can't we take five minutes to check our own written work, once or even twice? Don't people care about the kind of impression they're making on others when they write?
I've experienced this frequently as a single woman who has dabbled in on-line dating, where the written word is your first point of reference, your introduction to someone who could become your next romantic fling. While I can overlook one or two harmless mistakes in someone's Match.com ad or in an email message he might send, and I'm all for a little creative license in writing, the truth is that if a man makes too many blatant errors in his writing, I take it as a sign of a lack of intelligence or education, or at least a sign of overwhelming laziness -- neither of which is a quality I'm seeking in a partner! And I am likely to "write him off" without looking deeper. That may not seem fair, but there it is. Conversely, I can become quite attracted to a man who knows how to write well, and who takes the time to do the job properly. If he puts that kind of careful effort into his writing, I think that speaks volumes about the kind of effort he might put into building a relationship.
Before I get off my soapbox (and proofread this post for the fifth time -- because I know you are really scrutizining my writing now!), I just wanted to share with you this story about how bad spelling and inaccurate typing can really get a person into trouble:
A 21-year old German boy who wanted to visit his girlfriend in Sydney, Australia ended up making the wrong plane reservations because of a typing error. Not realizing his mistake, he dressed in clothing appropriate for the Aussie summer, and got on his plane eager to see his sweetie. He didn't really get concerned when the flight was routed through Portland, Oregon; he thought he was just going through Portland on his way to Sydney.
And he WAS... except that he ended up in Sidney, MONTANA... in the dead of winter.
Now THAT'S why you should have paid more attention in school.
