If you’re reading this, I assume you’re either a writer yourself or someone who knows one; few professions are as subjective or as frustrating as being a writer! There are so many grammatical errors and spelling mistakes that you can make which will throw your audience off – and the fact that you’re probably aware of this makes it even more frustrating!
Nobody’s perfect, and as a writer, you’re bound to make mistakes from time to time. The important thing is that you learn from these mistakes and continue improving your craft. This is especially important if you want to become a better writer. There are numerous resources available online that can help you find the errors in your writing and point them out to you. Doing this can hopefully improve your writing craft and make you a better writer overall.
Grammar
As a writer, you’ll naturally want to create grammatically correct and beautiful texts which are easy to understand. A good grammar guide will point out common errors that you make and help you rewrite your sentences to sound more polished. It is important to remember that the English language is a living language, and new words and phrases are often coined to fit current events and circumstances. If you want to sound like you’ve been using the language for years, you can often find the perfect word or phrase to suit your needs.
Spelling
Speaking of which, if you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering about the spelling errors as well. Spelling is one of the most common errors made by writers – particularly those who use abbreviations and loan words frequently. These are the things that you’ll find most annoying about spell checkers, too – the fact that they flag the most common errors and don’t offer much in the way of help. Knowing how to spell a word doesn’t mean that you’ll always get it right, but it can certainly help!
There is a difference between knowing how to spell a word and actually being able to spell it. If you don’t believe me, just try looking up a few random words in a good old fashioned dictionary; you’ll often find that the definitions don’t match what you think that you know how to spell. For example, did you know that the abbreviation Me too is actually spelled Mee Too? Or how about the term LOL (laugh out loud) which you might assume is an abbreviation for laugh out loud, but actually stands for laughing out loud?
Vocabulary
Last but not least, we have the vocabulary! A good vocabulary will help you form correct sentences and make your writing come alive. If you want to sound like you’ve been using the language for years and know exactly what words mean, go for a specialized thesaurus or dictionary. If you’re looking for an easy way to improve your vocabulary without having to look up every single word yourself, try a good old fashion pop-up dictionary!
As you can see, there are many ways in which a writer can benefit from fixing their errors. Being able to spot and correct your mistakes will make your writing much more professional and polished. This doesn’t mean that you have to be perfect, but it certainly helps!