I was an English major the first time I was in college and I have to say that my writing style is far from what it use to be for my blog. I was the one pointing out the errors and being a real grammar snob. And you know what? It was a put off for other people.
The thing is, blogging ain’t perfect and that comes to your blog voice. Your blog voice is what shines through when you write. Blogging already takes guts to do, especially for newbies. It takes time to develop a voice that resonates who you are and for your readers to become comfortable with you.
Now, that does not mean your blog voice is the same as how you speak, but it definitely is something that should come naturally.
I have some advice for both the visiting grammar snob and the blogger when it comes to blogging and the reader.
For the Visiting Grammar Snob
For those who are grammar snobs, it is not okay to be a complete jerk, even when the post is about teaching people something. Believe me, I had to fiddle around in my mind for a civil word. You can however send an email or leave a comment about a post about suggesting a correction. If you are doing that, you should also leave part of your comment directed toward the topic. And if you are selling services to copy edit, that is wrong and it is spam to even do that.
You can be as strict as you want, but you cannot control others. Get over it, be open minded, be helpful, or just click that ‘X’ in the top right of your Internet browser window if you are that turned off about a person’s post because of their grammar and punctuation.
For the Blogger
Do not be afraid to write. Be natural and just in case you do have trouble writing, proof read your post before publishing. Some browsers have spell check extensions that you can install, which will even pick up spelling errors while you type a post in your WordPress backend. If you are more comfortable typing outside of your blog platform or content management system, use Microsoft Word and take advantage of its spell check tool.
In the case that you have trouble proof reading and have a few buddies online, ask if they can skim your post and do a quick proof read. You do not need to hire someone to peruse your post and correct it unless you are trying to write a professional copy that needs to be perfect.
Do you still worry about your writing style? Or are you the grammar snob?
I am a grammar snob, but I cut bloggers some slack. The important thing in blogs is that the blogger is able to send his message across right? This is not any form of formal writing that needs grammatical correctness.
I must admit I have some problem writing naturally, since English is my second language.
I would not be offended if any pointed out some bad grammar, but there have not been anyone mentioning the grammar yet.
When I am on my own laptop I use Crome to correct writing error, if I don’t have access to Crome I use words to correct my grammar.
I also work in the oil business, so I am quit used to technical English.
The back side of spelling programs is that I don’t really learn to spell correctly, since the machine will correct it..
Nile, I was a pretty bad at spelling and wasn’t the best in the grammar department in my youth – as I’ve read more and started blogging I feel both have improved…still intimidated at times – but believe it shows I’m a real person.
I sometimes hear people negatively comment anyone who does not write correctly – talking about blogs – and close their site, as you said above. If someone’s grammar is very bad, OK, they should use a spell checker, it is easy and can be found anywhere, but if there are only a few mistakes, I think that’s not a tragedy. Not everyone was an English major and not everyone is a professor in literature…
also I have some problems with English being my second language, but I hope to improve this area in a short time
Yes this is true no body is perfect in this life but when we will try more on that point in which we don’t have fluency then we can solve out our problem very well.
Beside that you mentioned nice thing “”a spell check tool”” which can be prove helpful for many like me.
Well said Nile.
I definitely was a grammar star in school, but surely substance is more important than dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. I used to work in typesetting and could spot letters with the wrong space between in the newspaper! It got so I couldn’t read a book!
In any case the internet is international and there are many words and phrases that are completely different between the US and Australia. For instance a US couple once said they were rooting for someone here, and the room erupted in laughter. Yes, it has a completely different meaning!
So let’s focus on the message, not the grammar, and we will all be better off for it!
Hi Nile,
I am the grammar snob as I make amny mistakes. You are right, we shouldn’t be affraid to write. I have someone who helps me to correct my grammar mistakes. Thanks!
Hey Nile
I like to write like I talk, short, to the point and easy to read.
Of course we do not want our blogs full of grammar and spelling mistakes, at least not obvious ones.
But on the other hand if we try for perfection we will never write anything, I am a good example of that 🙂
Peter
Hi Nile, I enjoyed your post.
As an educator, I am familiar with two school of thought with regard to encouraging and inspiring students to write.
The old school method is to pick over everything with a fine-toothed comb to ensure grammar rules are in tact. Students should follow “the King’s English” because the king is all knowing and we should all fall in line.
The new school of thought is to allow for diversity and acceptance in writing. It is more important for the meaning to be communicated between the writer and reader than it is to follow the rules of grammar.
Some folks have a real issue with the new school of thought. People resist change and certainly refer to this as “the dumbing down of America”.
I suppose as with anything, there should be moderation and compromise. Grammar snobs will have to adjust.
Nathan Gurley
I’m a bit of a grammar snob but I never comment about it. Like Angel said, a blog is not formal writing.
The ones that really get me going is misuse of words. Example: your instead of you’re.
I never thought of it before, but I know right off I’m not a grammer snob. For me the most important thing in a blog post is point of view expressed in a clear way – I don’t even need to agree with them, just get the point they’re trying to make and cause me to think and maybe even question.
Nile, you have made some great points about blogging and grammar. Not everyone is prefect in that area but if you are courageous enough to blog about your passion people should be willing to cut you some slack if you have a few mistakes with the grammar. Spell check is a great tool to use to help in this area. Thanks for sharing!
Thank for the post! It’s help me a lot because English is not my mother language. I just wonder if we have any services (or blog, website, etc) that can help us check or comment about our writing?
Hi Jame, English is also not my mother language but grammarly helps me improve the article I write. Please check grammarly.com. I hope would help.
Hi Nile, I’m on the side where I worry about my writing, hopefully I could get over with it.
Nile, well done!
I love this. Hey, as long as the message is good and of quality. I can read anything and it will move and empower me. I can careless about the spelling.
I feel that you get your message with giving all your passion on that given subject. That deserves edifying and encouragement.
Those who look for something wrong are negative people who have lost their way in understanding we are only human. Stop with the bad and look for something in a post that you feel moved by. Then leave a supportive comment for all to see what message you got from the subject matter. Not how someone did not spell a word correctly.
Lets keep it real and share the love. No one is going to spell check 980 word counts every time. I would not waste my time. Give it a good second read to see if it is getting your message accross. Then publish it and cross your fingers that others will find the true meaning of your article.
Nile, your so hard core and I love it. Supporting those who are just starting to get out of their comfort zone to express their passions to the world.
You are unique and one of our great coaches in this industry and it is always a pleasure to get over to your site and smile, smile smile. ..Thanks for getting my blood up 🙂
I’m not the best writer so I appreciate your post about not being a jerk. I would definitely appreciate it if someone were to email me and let me know about a grammar or spelling mistake. Great post thanks
hi I’m not the best writer so I appreciate your post about not being a jerk. I would definitely appreciate it if someone were to email me and let me know about a grammar or spelling mistake. Great post thanks
I am an English teacher and even I don’t make so much fuss about grammar. It’s OK to correct, but that’s never done in public. Even if you do that in public, you have to be considerate.
I am a bit of a grammar snob when I read books but online is different. To expect everyone around the world to know perfect English is beyond snobbish. My feeling is that if I can understand what they are trying to say and they get their point across then they have done a good job and I am better for having read it, regardless of the grammar.
Hello Nile,
You have mentioned here very useful information.Blogging is all about passion and the important thing is that the message which a blogger wanna convey,it should reach the readers.
When you are sharing useful information then people do not care much about spelling and grammar mistake.We all make mistakes some time but we should use various tools to correct the spellings and practice writing with proper grammar.
Happy blogging guys 🙂
English is not my first language but it has gotten a lot better over the years and blogging helps as well (at least I think so). Before I post anything on my blog I would always use MS Word to not only spell check for spelling mistakes but for grammar errors as well. I figure, if you’re going to spend all that time writing an article, you can at least take 5 mins to check for errors.
On a side note, the thesaurus is like my best friend when I’m writing.
Nile, thanks for the encouragement. My father is a linguist, so I grew up with lots of “grammatical encouragement.” 🙂 One of the best books I read (although the cobwebs of my brain have made me forget a lot of it) was The Elements of Style. It was a small book, but it encouraged clear and concise writing, with active tenses versus passive. Leo Babauta of Zen Habits makes similar suggestions, as does CopyBlogger, so I try to keep my voice modulated with those suggestions.
Grammar is the main thing to be take care while writing. I also have some problem regarding this. I am working on this part. Hope I will get out off it very soon.
Nice article, thanks for sharing it.
The ideas you’ve shared here are fantastic and no doubt so great and it may really improve the variety of individuals visiting your website.
Maybe it is my perspective having spent many years working with students whose second or sometimes third language, but I am definitely not a grammar snob.
As far as I understand language,it is about communication and if that can be done even though there is a comma missing or some sort of tense misalignment, that’s fine with me.
With blogging, it has appeared to me from reading a number of blogs that the most important things are your voice and how you present your ideas. And if someone is going to visit your site, read your post and then post a comment about your grammar, or your spelling, or a typo or an autocorrecto or any of those things, that action doesn’t say anything about the author, but it speaks volumes about the commenter.
An excellent post. Nile, thank you for helping me sort my thoughts out on this idea.
Hi Niles, it doesn’t bother me if someone has bad grammar, unless it actually makes the post difficult to read. In that case, I might not finish reading it, or I’ll skim over the worse parts.
What annoys me a little, is that the spell checkers within my blog “assume” that I’m American and put those ugly red lines under the words I’ve spelt correctly in “Aussie English”. Like the word “spelt”, which is a “a simple past tense and past participle of spell” (from a dictionary). However, I am pretty certain that the American version of that word is “spelled”.
It’s the same with “learnt” and “learned”.
Anyway, that’s just a little “gripe” of mine with regards to grammar and spelling.
Good article Niles, bloggers have enough to think about, without worrying about their grammar all the time.
I used to work in typesetting and could spot letters with the wrong space between in the newspaper! It got so I couldn’t read a book! Hope I will get out off it very soon… .
Very creative post. Nice to see it here.
I really liked the title of the post, very creative and attention grabbing.
Nice share. 🙂
hi Nile ,
thanks for sharing, yeah ! you’re right! sometimes when you are about to share useful information some people don’ t care about the spelling and grammar mistake as soon as they really understand the main topic. Nobody’s perfect ,we all make mistakes some time.
As far as I understand language,it is about communication and if that can be done even though there is a comma missing or some sort of tense misalignment, that’s fine with me.
Thanks for sharing
I like the way you put across your message. it encourages. One should take action on one belief no matter the situation he find himself. ACTION! ACTION!! ACTION!!! If action can be taken, definitely you will improve.
Very excellent post…..Of course we do not want our blogs full of grammar and spelling mistakes, at least not obvious ones.
http://www.findghar.com
Although it is important that our spelling and grammar are correct when we write or do our blogs, it is more important that we pay attention to the content of what we write. If we do make mistakes with our grammar, we should learn from them and do our best not to repeat these mistakes. Thanks Nile!
Natural writing is important for any blogger. Many times, I was feel uncomfortable to write English because it may possible to make spell mistakes and also poor sentences but Now, I can write English well. Thanks for your confidential information.
This is a very encouraging message. It is necessary to not have mistakes on blog posts. But as a blogger myself, I don not want people criticizing me if i have made mistakes in my writing.