I admit it, I'm an editor

Hehe, I dont have any degrees or anything, but I do like finding mistakes in news sites and tickers Sometimes they are just hillarious :lol:

Josh

 

Once you notice one mistake you'll find them everywhere!!

 

Although finding mistakes is interesting (my two latest favorites are conputer and nab bar, for their possibly Freudian meanings), what I really love is to make writing as powerful as it is meant to be. On the Web, I ofen see SEO used at the expense of good writing. This doesn't have to be the case. When I find the way to meet all the needs of the writer, I do a little happy dance. (So do the clients as they laugh their way to the bank.)

 

I agree with your SEO point. I have great editorial skills but no patience for teaching what I know to others

 

I, on the other hand, love to teach.

In fact, I developed an educative edit so I could teach my clients not to need me, or at least not to need me at such an expensive level. It's a kind or tutorial, using the writer's own work. We work on that writer's unique style and writing habits. I love it when the writing gets better!

It's expensive up front, but learning to harness words is a great life skill.

By the way, I have a typo in my last post, Sometimes I see and edit button and sometimes I don't. Is there a pattern I should know about?

 

It's interesting to me that you have the ability to teach someone to harness words. I always found it to be inherent in myself. Would you agree that someone has to have an innate ability for you to teach them? It's like singing, you have to at least have a vaguely good voice to develop it. i.e. I have a terrible singing voice and I always will even if I take a million classes.

 

Have you been listening in to my "singing?"

As for teaching anyone to write better...
I think anyone can learn to write better. Yes, like anything else, using words is a gift. But like all gifts, it can be developed. But no matter where someone starts, we can all improve.

 

"I think anyone can learn to write better."

Yes, yes, yes.

But, it was much easier, prior to IM, e-mail, and video games.

 

I agree with you pcdoc. I think IM and spell check have had an such a negative impact on writing skills as a whole.

 

Spell checking has been my salvation. I worked on a spelling disability for years. I even taught publis school with dreadful spelling. The immediate feedback was the thing that finally turned things around for me. Now I almsot never see the little red squiggle.

So I guess I'd say it's like everything else: it has an upside and a downside.

There were those who thought that not having to cut a quill had a negative effect on written expression and I'm sure it was part of what changed the way we write. Progress isn't even.

 

Unfortunately, I'm still really prone to typos

 

http://www.iespell.com/

 

I'm the same I hate txt talk, so I often end up using all 3 txt's available, purely because I don't like to leave out the proper grammar Also, I hate this quick talk crap used by teenagers..

Dat GoEs LiKe DiS BeCoZ DeY TinK Itz Kewl, YanNo.

Please die.