Ah, the abominable red squiggly line. I’m pretty sure the spell check is one of modern day’s greatest inventions, and as much as I cringe every time I see the red pop up under one of my misspelled words, I must say, I’m quite indebted to it. Still, it’s a bit frightening how much I’ve become reliant on technology to catch my mistakes, and I say this because the other day, I decided to take an online copyediting test for fun (yes, for fun…) and I realized that without a computer or my phone auto-correcting me, my writing probably would be replete with errors. It was a bit horrifying, actually, because as a writer, spelling should be my forte.
Most people won’t take this issue as seriously as I do, but I still find it important to emphasize good grammar and spelling. In this digital day and age, writing seems to be somewhat of an obsolete skill; People, especially young folks, are so used to writing too casually and typing everything in shorthand, which, I think, is actually hindering their communication skills in the long run. Being able to write and communicate well is a vital personal skill to have, and also one that lends its services to businesses on social media. Why? Because what you say and type on your social media profiles is a direct reflection of you and your business. Strong writing is the basis of the Facebook statuses that you post and the tweets that you broadcast to the world. You have the power to craft and tell your story any way you would like, using just words, so why not use it?
Writing is a process. True, tools like the spell check are there at our disposal, but we should actively be trying to improve our writing skills and not relying so much on technology. My suggestion? Read more and write more. Find articles that you like and examine their writing styles, and make it a point to sit down every week and blog.
What do you do to improve your writing skills? Let us know on our Facebook page!
