Written Whispers

Yes. I’ve taken on another crusade of self betterment. To see my other little crusade which I have failed a few times (but not given up!) please see ‘My Vow Against the Mirror.’

This time I have decided to better myself as a writer and strive to be a little less lazy. It’s not quite as noble a cause as the other one but it’s easier to maintain and I’ll see results quicker. That doesn’t make it better in retrospect but it helps me feel like I’m achieving something. Sometimes it’s good to set small goals purposely that you know you can make just because it has a positive impact.

I’ve been doing this for awhile now but I’ve decided I want to make an official effort. We humans, not just writer’s in general, rely much too heavily on blessed technology known as Spell Check in all it’s many beautiful forms.

I write a great deal. It’s just how I am and I’m proud to say that even without SC my writing is readable. You don’t need to sound out individual syllables or go through to the end of the sentence to make sense of any one word (unless my vocabulary betrays me and I put the wrong word in the wrong spot but that’s more grammar than spelling). I often stumble over double consonants and typos abound in some of the worst places but it’s still coherent in it’s majority and that’s what matters right?

Wrong.

Now, I’ve always had this saying. "A good writer focuses on their writing and a good speller focuses on their spelling. I am a writer not a speller." So far this has served me well but I want to be able to do both. I am a wordsmith at heart and like any other artisan I should strive to perfect the craft I enjoy so much. Yes, I must turn the inner and technological editor off while I write because it’s a distraction but there is no reason why I shouldn’t make a better effort to improve my already decent spelling.

That and I was starting to feel just plain lazy when I would click SC and those red squiggly lines popped up. All I would do was search for the right word and a click it then move onto the next. Maybe a more observant person would learn from seeing the correct word in the list but I do not or have not- not that I was trying really.

Now when I see those lines instead of right clicking I go through and retype, and retype, and retype the word until I get it right. Sometimes it’s as simple as a typo and this retyping helps me be more aware and catch them quicker. Sometimes I’ve just forgotten the double T or P or  N or I’ve actually added one in the wrong word. Sometimes I have no clue how something is spelled like *thinks for a minute* alright I can’t think of anything at the moment but sometimes I use words that are fairly large and while I use them correctly sometimes I’m amazed at how they are truly spelled. This way I am learning. This way I am doing.

So, my vow is- instead of letting the SC do the work for me I’m going to switch my perception of it. It’s no longer a tool to make life easier in my eyes. It is now a resource to help me learn and better myself as well as an opportunity to practice ‘taking that extra step’ even when I don’t need to.

This may seem like an impossibly tiny thing but really whenever I’m done making a post and I see those squiggles after I hit the button it’s a reminder to work just a little harder and keep improving. Since I post just about every day I am reminded every day and find myself remembering at the oddest moments and taking more initiative in life.

This is my second vow *holds up tea in salute* here’s to ambition, perspective, and self improvement.

There were 8 misspellings in this post. 2 were typos.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 27th, 2008 at 7:49 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.