two things of note today
being in the editorial profession, albeit on the advertising level, i grow weary of constant errors in print and on the web. it pains me to see ill-formed sentences with no fluidity, no texture, and certainly no proper punctuation or syntax—seen in everything from high-profile news organizations and gossip rags to joe schmoe’s blog about nothing. yes, i know the “elite” publications are trigger-happy to publish the latest and greatest BP snafu or the most recent celebutard to get divorced/knocked up/arrested, and i understand that joe schmoe probably hasn’t taken a writing course since senior year in high school. but can anybody please take a moment or two to digest the words strung together? maybe even put in a comma or proper em dash, or hell, go nuts, a modifier? spice it up a bit! as i said today on twitter, “given the saturation level of information on the web, i think it’s safe to say editorial & grammar skills have suffered dramatically.” i also would venture to say that overall content has been compromised. i skim everything for the most important parts because i’m honestly not captivated by the author’s intent. and it’s a shame. the written word was at one time a beautiful art form.
(please know that i abide by my own creative liberties with the content and structure of this here blog, but i always do my best to write with honesty, clarity, and emotion, three very critical elements of prose. and i’ve been known to have a typo or three. nobody’s perfect.)
the other thing on my mind? i’ll save it for another time. maybe.