Monthly ArchiveSeptember 2006
Productivity & Writing 13 Sep 2006 05:22 pm
QOTD by Frank Tibolt
One of the modules I have on my Personalized Google Homepage is the Quote of the Day. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's interesting, sometimes it's stupid. And sometimes it speaks to me. This is one of those rare times.
We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.
As I writer, I've found that to be more true than almost anything else.
Culture & Personal & Productivity & Writing 09 Sep 2006 04:10 pm
There's a reason dictionaries exist
When I'm writing, I'm very conscientious of the words of I'm using. Generally, I choose each word specifically for a reason. As I'm taking online courses, most of the work is written, which is good for me. I don't have to drive to class 3 days a week and sit and be bored out of my tree. It's a lot more efficient to sit at home and do the reading and writing all at once. 3 hours of work condensed into 1.
Anyway, I read other people's work sometimes — it's encouraged — and sometimes I wonder if people know what the words they're using actually mean. In OS X, there's a little dictionary built-in. If I don't know all of the subtleties behind a given word, I won't use it, or I'll look it up just to be sure. And then I'll re-work the sentence or paragraph until I like it. (Blog entries excluded sometimes. 
) There are similar tools for Windows. And about a million Internet dictionaries on top of that.
My writing is a lot like my speaking. I've been told in the past that I speak "like a book" — whatever that means. I've always taken it as a compliment because I choose my words carefully both in speech and writing, and I strive to have my writing be as much "like me" as possible. I try to be authentic.
But when you read papers — even at the college level — it becomes apparent that people cannot write nearly as coherently as they can usually speak. They use words that they wouldn't if they were talking. This is bad because it's usually painfully obvious. It's okay to be plain-spoken. You don't need to have a Shakespearean vocabulary to get your point across; no one's going to look down on you for not using flowerly language. Yeah you might not be able to be a "professional writer" — whatever that means these days — but you won't look dumb, either.
This begs the question… why not simply speak your mind on something and then transcribe what you've said? It's real, it's usually not bad, and it's probably quicker than trying to bridge that disconnect between speech and written communication that seems to exist in some people — and it'll sound genuine AND intelligent.
Really, it's just better.
