You grab a cup of steaming hot coffee, sink into a recliner with your tablet, and open ActiveRain. Hmm... wonder if there are any new Blogs to read? Oh, yes! There's nothing like an eye-catching title to get you excited to put your feet up, dive in and start reading...
...but wait, what's this? You sit up in your seat, reach into your pocket, rub your Grammar Police (Volunteer) badge, and start skimming, shaking your head as you go.
Your eye twitches. Your inner dialogue shouts out, "It's too, not to! Where is the punctuation? Dangling participles everywhere! Oh, the humanity!"
A Blogger can have great content and ideas but lose credibility and reader interest almost immediately with the first misspelling, missing punctuation, and poorly constructed sentence. Some people are big thinkers and amazing orators, but lack writing and spelling skill. That's ok, because there are a few things a writer can do to keep them on the Most Wanted list (of Bloggers to read!) and to earn them the coveted Featured in AR spot:
- Run the post through a grammar and spell check program. This is the first-line of defense to catch accidental keystroke errors and careless mistakes.
- Re-read the post. While editing programs are helpful, they don't catch all mistakes and sometimes edit incorrectly to put ideas out of context.
- Share the post with a friend to read. The most famous of authors have editors. A second set of eyes to proofread is better than any computer program.
Even the verbose and creative wordsmith can have a post end up in solitary confinement (no comments, no readers, and no interest) by hastily posting without proofreading. Taking some extra care before publishing can be the difference between grate and great!
Comments(9)