I have been thinking about doing something like this for a while. I have held off, because I have not been able to come up with a theme or direction. Do I just talk about grammar rules? Do I tell humorous anecdotes about my editing experiences? Or, do i work on learning my craft and sharing what I have learned with authors and fellow word nerds? I like the last idea.
I am a Generation X dad, who has come up through private schools, in California, all they way through college. (Psychology degree) I did receive a pretty good grammar base in these schools, but I never really thought about it until somewhere in 2004, when I found Facebook. As I read through people's posts, I would just cringe at the lack of grammar aqumin. Sometimes I would comment, sometimes I would not. But the grammar gremlin in me would always scream.
Fast forward to 2020. Somewhere around March. As people were all hanging out at their houses for long periods of time, there was a thought floated onto social media that: since we were all stuck at home, doing nothing, we should learn a new skill. I don't remember my train of thought, but I landed on learning how to proofread people's writing. So I says to myself, "I know grammar, I have a good eye for stuff like this." I took an online course and learned that there was a lot of grammar and writing styles that I did not know. Coming out the other end, I have learned a ton, discovered the accepted grammar tools of the industry, and gained an even higher appreciation for our English language. Not to mention, I had a few paradigm shifts along the way.
Since then I have started a little business as a freelance proofreader, copy editor, and I have extended my IT skills-Second degree, in Information Technology-and added e-book formatting. Anyway, I hope you enjoy what I have to share as we make our way through the maze that is Grammar & Writing.
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