Friday Morning Musings

Up with the chick-a-dees and the Facebook in-box where I receive these messages from hapless guys who can't spell. What's up with the inability to spell? Now I realize there are those who shorten phrases in text. U know ... and then there is R U ... makes me think of Toys'R'Us. Yet there are those out there who literally cannot spell. I'm not talking sort'a can't spell. I'm talking barely using the alphabet. First, if you're a guy who messages a "publisher" who is also a writer, give this some consideration. Do you think someone who is all about spelling (I'm an editor, too) will appreciate the failure to attend spelling class. What does the ability to spell project? Think about it? In our digital-ease world, you realize that spelling and punctuation take center stage more than ever. You are projecting quite a bit of your "learned" ability in writing. A guy who can't spell the word "beautiful" (thank you for calling me that) isn't going to impress me even though he said something nice. Maybe to the average person who doesn't making a living off the English language this wouldn't be quite so unattractive ... or maybe not. To a professional editor and writer, well, it's bothersome. Next in line with I failed to attend spelling class is the failure to write literately. It comes off as (wait for it) ... illiterate. Again, who are you messaging? A literate woman. The extreme messages where the messenger failed to spell a single word correctly and then put together a sentence I can barely understand isn't a winner. Just remember "gang'o'mine," your spelling and writing abilities project something about you. Just saying ...