“Succinct” Saturday

I have been reading and rereading posts talking about improving your blog. Although I cannot abide by all of the “suggestions” (the utilization of “short” and “easy” words … I just cannot do it. I do not think the vocabulary I use is by any means obscure or obsolete; that being said, I cannot write at like a middle school sort of reading level … I don’t speak that way, and as I have said here MANY times, I do write closely mimics the way I speak) I have found some of them useful. Keeping entries “short” is a big one that I need to work on (I could always split posts into multiple posts!); one I found particularly interesting was the idea of “paying attention to the mistakes made by others.” I found this to be something of a “strange suggestion” because it is in my “nature” to look for errors – I do not exempt myself from this “criticism” by any means either! However, thinking about that one issue has led me to realize just HOW critical I can be.

With all of that said, I am really going to make a strong attempt to hold back when it comes to criticizing first and finding the good second. I frequently find myself becoming disgusted even reading articles from “top” magazines and newspapers when there are blatant grammatical errors or obvious errors in spelling. I used to work for the newspaper when I was in university (I had the LATE shift; meaning, I was one of like two people on the copyediting staff who gave the paper the “final checks” before it was printed) and I know that a GOOD paper utilizes at LEAST three rounds of copyeditors to check for errors – one or two sets of eyes won’t do it. At any rate, that has led me to be hypercritical of conventionally published “literature” in its many forms.

My goal, for now, is to find all of the good things in blogs I am reading (as well as newspapers, magazines, &c.) and to try to put my criticism on the back burner, so-to-speak. Becoming angry when someone from a major publication utilizes “less” instead of “fewer” is futile, at best; it just causes me to be angry in that moment – the printing in front of me is not going to change and I certainly realize that I will try NOT to make that mistake in my writing. Rather than focusing on these “little” things that drive me just a little too crazy, I am going to make a concerted effort to focus on the CONTENT – what is being said and what good is coming from what is being said. I think utilizing this “strategy” is helpful not just in “blogging” and writing but in life in general.

I hope you all can utilize this strategy as well! Realize the futility of becoming overly upset by minor errors and instead focus on the value of what you are reading (or hearing, &c.). I am not saying ignore bad things in life and just try to find the good even in the worst situation – I think denying our feelings in any capacity just feeds negativity and causes the growth of the worst of all “negatives,” FEAR. I am just saying that in an “average” situation, try to look at the “positive” first and realize that becoming agitated by the “negative” ONLY elicits change in yourself – and that change is by no means “positive!” I hope that is helpful advice.

I do hope you are all having a happy and healthy day wherever you are in the world! Have a great weekend!

❤ Always, Beth