Gene and I Agree

In my last post, I made a comment about how often I observe bad writing.  I saw this article by Gene Weingarten in the Washington Post Magazine about bad writing.  I've included the article after my post in case the link should stop working one day.  I was glad to see that Gene agrees with me.

Obviously, some are more aware of bad writing than others.  They probably have some type of relationship with the construction of words by way of profession or passion.  I liken it to a good friend who is serious about his body and working out.  He often notices imperfections in other’s bodies.   He points out things that I would never notice. 

Just like working out and having a nice body requires a commitment of time and effort, so does good writing. I often look up the definition of words that I think I know.  I religiously use the spelling and grammar check. The exception to this is Facebook.  Communication on Facebook means breaking every rule of grammar and a proliferation of abbreviations and acronyms.  If I don’t like the flow of a sentence, I keep looking at it – often rearranging the position of words, deleting or adding them.  I flee from clichés in search of my own voice. Then, I step back like an artist and stare at my creation.  Still not satisfied, I go through this tortuous process again and again.   Weirdly, I enjoy this. 

Here's Gene's article Gene defiantly recommends that you watch your language 
By Gene Weingarten, Published: January 3 in Washington Post Magazine

As the world’s leading connoisseur and curator of Bad Writing on the Internet, I often get letters from people about some common misuse of language that happens to annoy them. Most of these complaints are pedestrian. (Yes, I know “ATM machine” is redundant. Zzzz.) But reader Amity Horowitz just wrote in with an eye-opener. Coyly, Amity invited me to Google the peculiar expression “defiantly recommend.”

“Defiantly recommend” has been used 1.5 million times! While one might occasionally recommend something defiantly, at the risk of censure or ridicule — say, the ritual eating of one’s placenta — how often would that sort of thing happen? Not a million-odd times. So I investigated.

“Defiantly recommend” turns out to be a classic example of Internet-induced idiocy, an elegant collision of incompetence and indifference:  A person wants to write “I definitely recommend,” in, say, a product review but spells it “definately,” which is the illiterate’s go-to version of the word. Spellcheck (and its co-conspirator, autocorrect) realizes something is wrong and suggests “defiantly.” The incompetent writer doesn’t know this is wrong or doesn’t care or doesn’t notice. And so “defiantly recommend” gets published a million-plus times. A similar thing happens when inept spellers write “alot,” meaning “a lot,” but spellcheck turns it into “allot,” which explains the hemorrhage of Google hits for expressions like “I have allot of weapons.” This phenomenon has happened more than 2.2 million times, which is allot.

We will call this sort of thing The Law of Incorrect Corrections, and it leads indirectly to:

The Law of Uninformed Uniformity
Before the Web, to be published as a writer, you pretty much had to be a professional. Professionals are unafraid of words and know a lot of them and take pains to use them in entertaining, unexpected combinations. This is not so with many amateurs of the Web, who have much they wish to say but lack the professional’s confidence and extensive arsenal of words. They are to writing as I am to fashion: I know I have to put something on every day, but I have no confidence in my ability to mix and match with style or taste. And so I tend to dress in “uniforms”: safe combinations of familiar things, such as khaki pants with blue shirts. The modern Web-sters are like that with words. With words, they are … woefully inadequate.

Consider that very expression, a staple of the Internet. A Google search confirms that 80 percent of the time the word “woefully” is used, it is modifying the word “inadequate.” It’s difficult to explain how preposterous this is, but I’ll try: It’s as though 80 percent of the time people use salt, it’s on scrambled eggs. Think of all the missed opportunities for flavor.

Finally, The Principle of Trite & Wrong
Cliche is easy — it pops into the mind in an instant and often sounds profound or at least comfortingly familiar. Therefore, cliche infests the Internet, even when it is completely inappropriate to the point being made.

Consider “nothing could be further from the truth.” This expression is always a lie. Repeat: This expression is always a lie. If we scan the Web, however, we find it has been used 13 million times, generally in pompous defense of oneself or of another against allegedly scurrilous allegations. Charles Colson, for example, once decried the popular image of Martin Luther King Jr. as “a liberal firebrand, waging war on traditional values.” Says Colson: “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

Really, now! I think I can refute this without getting into a tedious discussion of a dead man’s politics. Here is one statement, for example, that is palpably further from the truth: “Martin Luther King Jr. was a subspecies of avocado.” See?

I could go on and on, but whatever I said about the absurdity of the situation would be woefully inadequate.

Ahh...Another Writing Group

A few nights ago, I visited another writing group - The Washington Creative Writers Club.  I found them through Meetup.com.   About 25 members attend on a weekly basis and almost everyone is working on fiction.   They break into smaller groups where individuals read their writing and then receive critique.

Not knowing anyone in the group and this being my first visit, I had not intended on sharing my work.  I thought I would sit back and observe. However, I still brought copies of my blog post A Moment of Melancholy.   I know enough about Karen to realize that Karen just might change her mind.  I wasn’t interested in reading my work out loud as I had not rehearsed my reading voice.  Ok, I was scared.  I even inquired about letting others just read it and provide critique.  Joe, leading our group, said he would explain that later at the end of the meeting and that he would put me down to read second.  Joe is a force so I complied.

I read my work and felt like I was sitting naked on a stage somewhere in Times Square.  I did not die.  In fact, I received very constructive and thoughtful feedback.  One suggestion was to be more economical with my words if I am going to do short essays (500 words or less).   Here's an example from my melancholy post:  I said, I looked up and realized that a little girl was coming my way.  I could say, A little girl was coming my way.  Another thought was to add a final paragraph to tie everything together.   I questioned whether or not I should tell the reader exactly what they should take away from my work.   They didn't see it that way.  There was a comment about the piece not really being about melancholy although it’s in the title and mentioned a few times.  In fact, Joe the force, briefly and eloquently expressed what the piece was really about and I was impressed. All I could do was nod as I realized that these might be my people.

The Washington Creative Writers Club is not for everybody.   I was told that they have a lot of one-timers. The individuals that I encountered were pretty intellectual and about business.   It’s about the work and not your feelings, who you think you are or who you want to be.   In my group, I was surrounded by solid writers.  I’ve been to other writing groups where people do not have basic writing skills.  I see this everywhere including professional settings.  This may be more of a reflection of our educational system than anything else.

After the meeting, a number of people came up to me and encouraged me to come back.  They hoped I wasn’t scared away. Several members went over to the Cheesecake Factory afterwards.  I went along.   I didn’t come to DC to become a hermit.  In fact, this is exactly why I moved to DC – to have new experiences and meet new people.  This may require that I leave my apartment.   I got home sometime after 11 pm.  The next day I went to work to earn my daily bread, tired but happy.

Man Cannot Live by Lists Alone

A New Year…Four beautiful seasons begin.  These are not my words.  These words are from a six-pack of holiday cards by American Greetings.  I love the sentiment and the hope that these few words offer.

In the past, I take this time to reflect upon where I've been and where I want to go.  When I was younger, I used to write down a list of goals for the future.  To prove this point, I selected a journal from my box of journals to see if I could find any New Year resolutions, goals or lists.  The first journal I picked up included an entry from January 4, 2007 which concluded with a rudimentary handwritten chart:

2007

More	Less
Writing & Reading	TV
Healthy Behaviors	Fear
Understanding	Anger
Compassion	Sugar, Fried Foods
Financial Stability	Bullshit (internal & external)
Family Time
Meaningful Relationships
Fearless Living

Having lists to help us reach our goals can be helpful but we gotta keep these lists in check.  Keep lists in their place.  There have been times when my life felt like a series of lists that I kept constructing and destructing.   It feels good to cross things off of a long list.  Of course, I would then create a new one.  It is a way to move oneself around in the world and to feel deeply accomplished or like a friggin failure…all because of a stupid list.  Truly that’s a recipe for mania. 

Man cannot live by lists alone. 

As I said before, we just gotta keep lists in their place.  Lists are very helpful when I’m at work and have too much to do.  I need a little list to write down things that need to get done that day or within a short period of time.  Lists are also good for the grocery store.  Without a good list, I could end up with almost anything.  I've been collecting books by my numero uno main squeeze author James Baldwin.  I put the list of 5 books I currently own in the notes section of my phone.  Last week, I wandered into Second Story Books in Dupont Circle (Washington, DC) and found a Baldwin book.  I was so excited and headed to the cashier.  I remembered my list and was shocked it was already on there.  I couldn't believe that I had forgotten that I had this book when I just put this list in my phone less than a week ago.  So lists are also good for people like me who are a bit loopy.

Our lists are often based on our goals - but we also have to keep our goals in check.  Goals will change based on our needs, wants and state of mind.  Sometimes they are valid and sometimes they're not. I may have a goal that is based on a need.  Here’s an example that many can relate to.  There was a time when I had marriage on my list of goals.  Now, I desire meaningful relationships.  I figure that if marriage is really that important for my journey then all of the cosmic forces, Jesus, Buddha, Allah and everyone else will come together and make it happen.  I see no reason to expend my creative, spiritual, emotional and intelligent energy on trying to make something like that happen.  Fortunately, I live in a day and time where I have enough freedom and opportunities to do what I want without being legally hitched to someone.  I don’t need to be married.  However, I don’t think I could make it without the support of friends and family.  I need meaningful relationships.  Developing meaningful relationships has become a guiding principle for my life.  

So what does all of this mean for the new year?   It’s ok to have a list or two of things to accomplish to help you organize your life but they can’t be your life.   Try to have guiding principles by which to live your life and then put them in practice.  These can be simple things like to be more loving, compassionate or creative.  If you miss the mark you can just try again.  That’s the hope that comes with a new year.

Wishing you peace, blessings and all good things-  Karen