Why writing in perfect English is not a priority on Steemit

While it may be true that English is the language of the Internet, and it’s also true that well written posts with correct use of the English language are more likely to engage your audience, and in turn earn you upvotes, I think focusing too much on correct usage of English can be detrimental to the platform as a whole.

image source

Let me explain.

What is the purpose of language?

The purpose of language is to convey thoughts, ideas and concepts to someone else. If you say (or write) something, and the other person understands it, then that purpose is satisfied. Your communication worked.

You may have placed an apostrophe or a comma in the wrong place, or forgotten to put them in entirely. But your message was still understood, and that’s the reason for using language in the first place – to be understood.

So when you write a post on Steemit, you have something you want to share with other people and you want them to understand it. As long as they can understand what you are writing, then your English is good enough. But should you leave it there?

In a word, no.

You want to be understood, you want to share, and the better your use of the language, the easier it is for others to understand what you are writing. So good enough, does not have to be good enough. You can always improve your skills, and in doing so improve your reach into the Steemit community, gain followers and upvotes.

Let me share a wee story with you

At the end of last year I bought a book by our very own @dragosroua, called Running for my life.
Dragos is from Romania, and while his English is quite good, it is not his native language. So, throughout the book there were miss-spellings, incorrect usage of words, grammatical errors etc.

Did this detract from the story he was telling?

No, because he was writing with his own voice. It made sense that his English would not be perfect. This was a personal account of his journey into long distance running, and to tell it in a perfectly accented English voice would have been wrong.

Remember the point is to make yourself understood, to pass on concepts and ideas, and in this case, his passion for running. His hope was that someone might be inspired by his writing and start their own journey into running.

In my case, it lit a spark. It made me ask myself the question – Do I have a marathon in me? The perfection, or not, of his writing was irrelevant. It was his vision and passion that the words conveyed, and they were conveyed well enough for me to drag myself off the couch and start running.

I learned from his writing and used his insights to surmount the obstacles he faced with much greater ease than he did. His English was good enough to tell his story and get his message across.

I now have an answer to my question – yes I have a marathon in me. I successfully completed my first marathon on 18th June 2017 in a time of 4 hours and 37 minutes, and I did not die. (which I am quite happy about)

So what does this mean for you if your English is not so good?

It means don’t stress about it. Take your time to write what you want to write, how you want to write it, with your voice. Try to do it in a way that communicates what you are trying to say, the best you can. Then make an effort to check your spelling, check your grammar and do what you can to polish your post, but don’t take days agonising over it.

In your next post, take what you have learned and use it to make the next post better, and the next one, and the next one after that. In a year’s time your writing skill will be significantly better than it is today.

To begin with, write small posts, and then as your abilities grow, expand and grow your style and content.

This blogging thing is not something you just start out at and you’re good within a week. It takes work, like running. Start out small and build it up over time, learn, grow, experiment, improve and before you know it the things that were so hard in the beginning, are not even thought about any more. They just happen.

So what if I’m good at English? Why do I have to read this poorly written crap?

The short answer is, you don’t have to. Go and read something else. But then you will miss out.

You will miss out on different perspectives, different styles, voices, stories, colours and experiences. You will miss out on seeing someone progress in their writing. You will miss out on being part of their journey, part of their story.

Would it not be better to read these posts, and help the writers become better at telling their stories? You have the skills, the knowledge and the insights, just like Dragos did. Will you not share them, and help a little old grey-haired man achieve something everyone thought was impossible, as Dragos did?

My biggest regret is that I don’t have enough time to engage all of the new writers on Steemit and pass on to them my love of language. My own usage of it is not perfect. But it is good enough and I’m more than happy to share what little I know, to help someone become a better writer.

You too can help, or you can ignore, or you can mock, but remember that all of us have weaknesses and strengths. How would you feel if your weaknesses were mocked? And how would you feel if someone helped you overcome those weaknesses and turned them into strengths?

And always remember – it’s i before e except after c. Except when it isn’t.

---

Check out my stories here on Steemit

Running Deer

Running Deer - part 1
Running Deer - How legends are born

Charlie Rabbit

Meet Charlie Rabbit
Charlie tides up
Charlie Rabbit and Margery Mouse
Charlie Rabbit and Margery Mouse make music

Little Peppers Adventures

Runaway Rabbit and the hungry fox
Maybe and the land of purple rainbows – A Little Peppers adventure
How Pappa Pepper and Monster Truck the Pepper got their wild hogs - a Little Peppers Adeventure

Dark Angel Regiment of the Space Marines - Mission Files

First Squad Sniper Elite - Zaresith mission

Other stories

Stranded
The Lady Of The Lake

---

Also don't forget to check out my Dad's blog

Who else can tell you stories about impersonating an officer, stealing a military aircraft to go on a booze run, or steal military aircraft and go on an unsanctioned bombing run - and that's all before he turned 18!

Check out @len.george and find out what other madness he got up to!

---

Are you new to Steemit and trying to figure out what it's all about?

Head over to: https://www.steemithelp.net/. It's the best place to get a handle on what the platform is all about.

---