Posted on November 11, 2018 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek
This post isn’t exactly a tip for authors, but we thought it might be a nice balm for anyone who’s ever been excoriated for their language online.
Denise Cowle, who provides copy editing and proofreading services, rejects the idea that the “grammar police” are doing a public service.
Sometimes their criticisms don’t take educational background or learning disabilities into consideration.
Sometimes they’re simply regurgitating style choices from their teachers, who in turn likely passed along the rigid and outdated rules that their teachers followed.
And sometimes, they’re just plain wrong — language is constantly evolving. What would Shakespeare think of how we write and speak?
In a nutshell, let’s be kind and give others the benefit of the doubt, or at the very least, the gentlest of corrections when appropriate.