A Little Dab of This & A Little Dash of That

Friday, October 16, 2015

Where Did All the Editors Go?




     Well, it's Friday again.  Beautiful fall colors flood the midwest.
Still...

     I'll admit, that at times I'm wound a tad too tight.

     So many times I read comments and wonder how the writer expects to be taken seriously.  Many times I have read over a comment two, three times, and finally realize, oh... they're trying to insult the author of the post.

     I'm not as up in arms about this, as I have been in other posts where I have used this cartoon.  Also, with the amount of jumping around my touch screen laptop is doing right now, in all likelihood by the time this post is finished, it will have its share of mistakes.

     That being said, one of the things that gets me going is the lack of editing today.  Either people don't care or are relying on spell-check solely, in cases where they also need to reread.
     I edit, and re-edit, I still miss things.  I am willing to bet there will be a fud-up even in this post, most likely in punctuation.  Been around enough to know that due to the topic, it's a given to make sure I don't get too smug.  That's okay.  I have no problem admitting when I'm wrong and laughing at myself.  Lots of experience there.

     As I mentioned, there are those who share their thoughts in the "Comment Section" on various sites.  I know they don't employee personal editors; ...still.  If I agree with the view of the commenter and they make a mistake, I cringe.  If I don't agree with a commenter and they misuse or misspell a word, I chalk them up to idiot status.  If they make grammatical, or punctuation mistake, and are belligerent also; well I can't share my term for those folks, because at this point, I'm still adhering to my no swearing policy.

     I was reading an article and was agreeing with all the points, until the writer wrote, "I'm a lion, here me roar."

     I once saw a comment between friends, "I miss you're pep talks."

     On a transcript of a site that I visit nearly every day, "there talking about him..."

     Spelling software does not work on putting in the correct word.

     Even in an autobiography of a much loved musical icon, I found misspellings, wrong tenses, and misuses.  I had to read over paragraphs more than once to get the point. <Sigh>.

     Again; not meaning to get on some grammatical/spelling high horse, but I see mistakes in published books, magazine articles, as well as on-line articles nearly every single day.  Editors are still part of the publishing business, aren't they?

     Yes, we're busy.  Still, if we are to communicate with each other, which by the sign of the times, is needed more than ever, I believe it's imperative that we perform the tedious task of rereading, and editing before putting it out there.


     So, here's my hot list of mixed up words, I commonly see.

bear, bare
Bear with me as I bare my thoughts.   Better not be bare bottomed in the woods in case there are bears.

hear, here-
hear- to be aware of or perceive with the ear
here-adverb that shows place, or introduces something.

Glad to hear that you're doing well.
Here is a funny story.

it's its- 
it's is a contraction of "it is"
its -shows possessiveness

Have you seen the news?  It's so mind boggling these days.  Its happenings never cease to amaze me.

to, too, two
to- to be used in phrase such as going to market
two- the number 2
too- quantifier, shows also, or in addition.  

Is it too much to ask to edit?  Would you like to go to the market too?  I plan to get two types of mushrooms.

then and than-  
then means what happened next;  than is used in a comparison.

We went to the movies, then we went to dinner.  I would rather go to the movies, than go to the store.

there, their, they're
there- refers to place
their- possessive 
they're- contraction to replace "they are"

There are my keys!
Oh my kids... they're driving me crazy!  Their toys are everywhere!

where, ware, wear,-
where- adverb to show place
ware- noun, meaning manufactured articles
wear- can be verb or noun, describing clothing or erosion

Where should we go today?
The sellers at the market displayed their ware on shelves.
I'm going to wear my new dress.

your, you're
your- shows possession 
you're- contraction for "you are"

Clean your room now!
You're in trouble.

     Misuse of the words "unique" and "proximity", make me scream.

     So, please find the time to edit. And read over.  Edit.  Read over.  Hand over to friend/wife/husband/editor.  Repeat.


     Taking the topic a little further; take the time to spell names correctly.  If you don't, it will be seen as you do not give a damn.  Nothing shouts out disrespect quite the same.

     Once upon a time, I had a creative director agree to look at my copywriting portfolio.  One of my spec campaigns was for Fuji Cameras.  I misspelled it F-u-g-i in all three of my spec ads.  The creative director was not amused.  I even had a Fuji camera at the time.  Hard. Painful. Lesson.  Learned.

     So, take it for what it's worth.  Feel free to let me know where I flubbed up.

     Hear!  Hear!




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