Minnow Secret Weapon: Writing to be READ!

I recently joined up at the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty (PAL) group on Discord. As I understand it this is @aggroed's brain child through which he is valiantly battling to give minnows like me a fighting chance to become Dolphins and maybe someday even Whales. You can read here to get further details about his collaboration with @ausbitbank and @benjojo to give us a jump start. I'm assuming you already have though, because if you are a minnow with any desire to grow into even a bass or pickerel let alone a dolphin and you aren't following @aggroed and @shayne, well... just... duh.

Seriously. Get with the program.

I can't do anything like what these folks are doing. I want to because I completely share their vision of a platform with new users able to find sufficient support to encourage them to stay, generate wonderful content, and in turn attract and support more new users; but I have only the slightest inkling of how any of this even works. There is really only one thing I can bring to my fellow minnows, and that's a sharp eye for proofreading along with the requisite understanding of the English language to actually correct things - well - correctly.

Well, yeah!

As I see it, there are three kinds of writers who put out posts filled with SPG (Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar) errors:

*Non-Native-English writers:

These folks get a complete, 100% pass from anyone who isn't a total dick. The problem is, when reading a post that is written in English, there is no way for the reader to know this is not a native speaker unless it's been announced somewhere. And even for people like me, who would give a complete pass on this, it doesn't make it somehow more pleasing to read. I readily confess that the least fluent ESL writer on here is far better at writing in my language than I would be at his, but I'd also jump at the chance to have him proof my work in that language because I'd rather publish the most polished piece possible.

Just admit you'd rather me fix my horrible French than read my horrible French!

*Native English writers who simply don't have the experience or know-how to spell, punctuate, or conjugate correctly:

I give these folks a pass as well, inasmuch as I don't think it's a sign of the downfall of civilization if you don't know the difference between "their," "they're," and "there." I assume people in this category would avoid SPG errors if they could because I like to believe the best of people.

It is not. I like subject-verb agreement as much as the next gal, but let's all calm down about the "bastardization of language."

*Native English writers who know damn well they are putting out a slapdash scribble filled with errors but just don't care because plenty of other people won't care either:

These folks do not get a pass from me. It's not like I despise them or anything, and I know many people don't care about SPG. But plenty of people do and if I'm going to invest my limited time and limited up votes and write a thoughtful comment on a post, I feel like the least an author can do is proofread it. It seems discourteous not to do that for the sake of readers.

You have time to verify that there are not entire words missing from your sentences!

Now I don't have any weight to throw around on Steemit - yet - but I do want to do my part to help our minnow ranks grow into mighty carp. I will not, however, resteem posts that are filled with errors, mostly because I rarely if ever finish them myself. I can't focus on what a writer is saying when I'm distracted by a lot of mistakes. If you are thinking, "Who cares whether you care, with your piddling little minnow status," that's cool, I get it. But I'm not the only one.

The fact is, you can stand out from the crowd simply by writing to be read. That means no glaring spelling errors or insane run-on sentences that go so far as to leave the reader scrambling to catch up. I've resteemed many posts about topics I'm not personally even interested in, just because the writing was done well. This doesn't mean you have to be all stuffy and proper; this is certainly a forum where a conversational tone is appreciated. But "conversational" and "incomprehensible" are two totally different things.

Pictured: Confusion. Not pictured: The face you want happening when some Whale finally stumbles across your post

Now I'm not one to just come on and gripe, I'm here with a purpose. If you are a minnow and you suspect you may not be the best at proofing your own work, or if you are an ESL writer who would like to get things straight, and you haven't already, get your ass to Discord and get on the #peer-review!

I'm on there as jrhughes just like here. IM me your word doc or even a PDF and I'll send you back a markup. No charge. It's my way of offering a little help to my fellow minnows. Now I have a 9 to 5 job, so it may not be immediate, but I can pretty much guarantee you'll have it back within a couple of hours. If you don't want to wait to post, that's cool, you can always make the edits later if you are so inclined. I don't do any changes to actual content. Your voice is - and should remain - your own, but I may be able to help you speak with more clarity.

I'm looking forward to giving my little something to this effort, so come on and use me, already!

Okay... that came out wrong.

Hey, I'm not just a Grammar Nazi!

Check out my latest on the Epidemic of Entitlement among parents!

Or how about a little dystopia provided by the latest installment of Seed

If you like, UPVOTE! If you want more, FOLLOW! If you think someone else might enjoy, RESTEEM!