On the decline of the state of written communications

I'm a semi-professional writer. I don't expect everyone to be able to communicate with the same degree of skill that I do. But in a world where written communication has become so widespread and so easy, I /do/ expect people to take some care and make the effort to craft their words instead of butchering them. But more and more frequently, I see the signs of devolution in the written language.

It's not a simple case of people spelling things incorrectly. Spelling mistakes happen and not every application has a built in spell checker. My father has a PhD in English Lit and his spelling is just short of atrocious.

It's not a matter of grammatical errors. The vernacular is the common language and with the exception of formal events, I wouldn't expect people to speak in a formal manner. Hell, even Shakespeare didn't write in 'absolutely grammatical' English.

My biggest peeve is people who don't even bother to make the effort. I'm sick to death of all of the 'r u's and 'its so kool i cant belieev it lol's that are mucking up the open text forums of the world. Call me a snob, but I feel very strongly that it's important to make the effort to use the language properly.

One of the most beautiful things about the English language is its complexity. It can be used for subtle word play, for lyrics, and to express abstract thoughts. It has taken/stolen from many other major languages to form a very special means of communication. But it seems like people are losing their love of the language in the minor convenience of being able to type 'r u' instead of 'are you'. In and of itself, that would be fine. But it leads into further laziness in the use of language which ends up with a nearly incomprehensible pile of pseudo-words making up a pseudo-thought.

I despair for the state of the world when people become too damn lazy to learn to type a few extra keystrokes in order to make their thoughts something a little more special than 'lol'.

Just another Friday

My father and stepmother are coming to visit with my wife and me this weekend, which was the major reason I was unable to post for most of the week, as my wife and I were busy getting a million and a half things done. Like finishing the bathroom renovations. But I digress...

My father has been a freelancer for most of his professional life. He's spent a few years at a few corporations, but primarily, he's been out on his own. And he's good at it. We're going to be spending some time this weekend going over my current plans and (I hope) he'll be giving me some more pointers.

Short post today. Got a lot to do in a very little time. But I'll post more on Sunday or Monday with details.

Delays and new happenings

Well, life being what it is, I haven't been able to sit down and write out an update since Friday. Without bringing too much of my personal life into it, let's just say that it's been entirely too busy, recently. However, there has been an event of some note in the world of my writing career.

I'm a member of a few groups that deal with things I feel strongly about. The most notable is the World Future Society. But the one that is closest to my heart is the Heinlein Society.

For those who don't know about it (which I suspect is a majority of my audience), the Heinlein Society is an organizaton that was started by the widow of the speculative fiction writer Robert Heinlein before she passed away. The main purpose of the group is to take what enrichment they have taken from Heinlein's philosophies and works and pay it forward by seeking to do what they can to make te world a better place.

This 'payment' takes many forms, but primarily the work is focused on the promotion of education through the form of getting more books into libraries and the creation of scholorship programs. They also have an annual blood drive and have recently given the first 'Heinlein Prize,' an award created to honor achievements towards promoting the commercial development of space and space flight, a subject that was very dear to the heart of the late writer.

And how does this impact my career? Well...they need a newsletter editor. Or, I hope, needed. I spoke with the president and chairman of the Society yesterday and, while my qualifications are not exactly iron clad, it's a volunteer position and no one else has stepped up. So, pending a final approval, it looks like I'm going to be given an opportunity.

For more information on the Heinlein Society, check out http://www.heinleinsociety.org.

Friday - I manage to continue my experiment

I've gone into some of the details behind why I started this blog. One of the reasons I didn't mention, though, was something I've been lax about for a long time.

One of the most important lessons I've ever neglected to heed is that writers need to write. Every day, you need to write something. Even if it's garbage, the act of putting words on paper (or an online outlet) is absolutely essential. It's like any other sort of activity: you need to train to get better.

So I'm making sure that I post here at least every week day with an attempt to post on the weekends, as well. After all, it's tough to show people what you can do if you're not doing it.

I might post some more today, if I get inspired. I have some things about customer service that have been rolling around in my head since I started listening to 'The World is Flat' on audiobook.

Thoughts on a Thursday

There are a lot of pros and cons about going into business for yourself. One of the biggest is the lack of teammates. One of the things that has always kept me going in my jobs (including the one I just started a couple of weeks ago) has been the quality of the people that I've worked with. But that's not always enough.

Currently, I'm driving an hour and a half to work and the same back home. Five days a week. It's painful, especially with gas prices as high as they are, but the job pays well and has a lot of security, including some of the best health care benefits in the country. That's enough to keep me here for a while. But forever?

No.

My father was a freelance writer and consultant for many years and I think I inherited a fair deal of his restelss spirit which kept him out of coporate America for more than a year or two at a time. I saw, growing up, how hard he had to work to make it and I find myself sharing the same anxieties that he did. Can I make it? Will I be able to build myself up to a point where I can rely upon my skills as a writer to provide for my wife and (eventual) children? How long will it take before I can turn this skill into a career?

It's enough to keep me up at night sometimes.

But in the end, I think that half of the struggle is against yourself. The Fear is an awful obstacle to overcome, but if you let it rule you, you're finished. Even if the fears are justified (as I feel that mine are), if you pay them too much mind, you'll never be able to overcome them. You'll never go anywhere.

It's a balancing act and you can't always wait until conditions are perfect before you start walking the tightrope. Yes, my wife works and would gladly support me in my efforts, but pride keeps me from even conidering that. I want to be the one to support my family, damn it. Call me old fashioned, but I don't think I could respect myself if I didn't make the effort.

So now I'm here...working a full time job and struggling towards a goal which takes up what little free time I have. Is it worth it? I think it will be in the end. But it's a long road ahead and I can only pray that I continue to receive the same loving support that I've been lucky enough to receive so far.

More tomorrow.

The first of (hopefully) many

Howdy. My name is Max and I'm (among other things) a freelance writer. While I have other blogs I use for personal rants and staying in touch with friends, I decided that it was time to develop something I could use as a forum to present things for business purposes as a means of demonstration for potential clients without having any personal things mixed in.

As of yet, I'm only doing a little bit of freelancing on the side and holding down a day job, but eventually I would like to be ale to support my family through the use of my writing abilities. Unfortunately, it's difficult to get a good client base together. It takes time and a portfolio. One thing that a number of people on a small business forum I'm on suggested giving something away for free as a means to draw people in and, in addition to contributing to forums and other group projects, I decided that a personal, business oriented blog would be a good way to do just that.

While the content on this blog is going to be varied, I will primarily be focusing on a number of my primary interests, such as customer service, popular culture, food, and futurism. However, expect to see a political piece or editorial from time to time.

That's all for now. Going to start promoting this site now, I suppose. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment and I'll be happy to get back to you. Until later!