By Jami Carpenter, NAMW Member-only Teleseminar Speaker for September
I’ll admit that I’m pretty neurotic when it comes to writing. True, I’m an editor, and it’s my job to correct and perfect manuscripts, ads, brochures, and press releases. But even when I’m not on the clock, I can’t help it. Whether I’m texting-emailing-IMing, posting on Facebook, or just making a grocery list, I spell everything correctly, use appropriate punctuation and capitalization, and always make sure the subject agrees with the verb.
Why do I do this? Why do I care? Granted, I won’t get arrested for missing a serial comma or need surgery for a dangling participle. Ending a sentence in a preposition won’t tank the economy, and people know what Medicare is even if it’s not capitalized. But still I insist on maintaining some semblance of grammatical correctness.
I’ve tried texting “cuz” and “thx” and “c u l8r.” Then I feel like a pre-teen and have a burning desire to draw hearts over every “i” and put smiley faces (no, not emoticons) at the end of every sentence. I’ve written LOL at the end of a blog, but worry that someone will think I’m saying “laugh out loud,” when I mean “lots of love.”
I may be in denial, but I believe that the art of writing will return in full force. Until then, I will continue to follow the rules of grammar in all my correspondence and hope I make my high school English teacher proud.
About Jami:
Jami Carpenter is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, has a master’s in Counseling and Educational Psychology, and was executive producer and host of a television talk show on Vegas PBS that featured interviews with local, national, and international authors.
As a professional editor, she works with traditional and boutique publishers, independent writers, advertising agencies, educational foundations, and non-profit organizations. Jami is frequently a presenter at writing conferences, author groups, libraries, and bookstores, sharing her obsession with good grammar and punctuation as the redpengirl. Learn more about Jami at http://www.redpengirl.com.
My goodness! I thought I was unique in this new world! I cannot bear the general deterioration of language and I also notice it everywhere. At least all my grand-children know what is correct even if they do not practise it all the time and I am probably ‘a pain’. I was educated in an English grammar school after the war were the teaching of language and literature were deemed important , although at the time French was my first language.
Hello Jami,
Ever since I met you at The Nevada Writer’s Workshop in Las Vegas, I have been working hard to improve myself as a writer. I had to quit flogging myself, because my wife says that’s not the kind of pain a writer should go thru. So, instead, I take great pains to use proper punctuation. Writing should not be a pain. It should be a pleasurable experience.