Maintaining high standards
I’m well aware that this kind of behaviour can come across as annoying to other people. More often than not, I can’t help myself. I have no choice but to point out every little typo. I also find it quite distressing to spot a hyphen used in place of a dash. That kind of thing is hard for me to see past. I’ve been called a know-it-all in the past – I’m going to assume it was being used as a term of endearment. But, to be honest, it secretly makes me very happy when my good friend complains to me that she finds it hard to send me a text message. I take that as a compliment! Her problem is that she has to check and double check there are no mistakes before she hits send. I don’t see a problem with that as a firm believer that we should always take pride in our writing – not just when we’re at work.
Spreading language love
Another friend of mine, who never used to give spelling or grammar a second thought, now takes great care to write well without any mistakes slipping in. He has grasped that a carefully crafted e-mail is better received – nothing to do with the technology itself, of course. Although, wouldn’t it be great if badly written e-mails just went straight to the junk folder? Just an idea! Anyway, my friend has become a master of commas, despite having used them pretty randomly before to introduce pauses when they really weren’t needed. I played a part in this transformation by providing feedback whenever I happened to be looking over his shoulder when he was writing.
And I’m always happy to help my colleagues if they have any language-related questions or need me to cast my eye over something they’ve written. This often leads to interesting discussions. I even have to look things up sometimes, so I end up learning something new too. It doesn’t all come to me just like that, you know. But I really do enjoy it. And I love seeing other people getting excited about something I care so much about and have so much fun with.
Do you have a text ready for proofreading or editing? I’ll be happy to help you!
