Do not post unedited work anywhere, ever. Spelling and grammar are one of the biggest cues available through the written medium, which is one of the few cues available online. Any writing mistakes will make you seem either lazy or uneducated. Because cues such as body language, or other subconscious behaviours are missing in an online environment, cues such as grammar, spelling and writing style are often seen as more meaningful about you as a person than the actual message. You're not going to turn anyone off because your spelling is perfect, but you will definitely turn off a large proportion of people because your spelling is bad.
Feeling panicked yet? Here are some tips on proof reading work.
1. Cut 10%. Okay, that's not a hard and fast rule, but I want you to go through and try to cut out as much as you can while still keeping the same meaning. Do you have superfluous words that add nothing to your message? The cleaner and sharper your writing, the clearer your message will be. Make sure that every word is fulfilling a vital purpose. Otherwise, kill it.
2. Sepll-Chekecr. It sounds redundant, but ensure the presence of spell-checkers where you're writing. You ought to be writing your profile in a Word editor program, as this means that you can save it and edit it/think about it/work on it over a number of days. Some browsers also don't have a spell-checker built in, so you would need to copy and paste it into a Word editor anyway, writing it directly onto the webpage means you probably aren't considering it closely enough.
3. Read it aloud. Try to always read your work aloud. It is even better if you can get a friend to read it aloud, because then you will be able to hear where other people struggle with phrasing or meaning. If you have to explain to your friend that it should be read a certain way, then you have failed in your writing. You never get a chance to explain to your reader, so make sure you don't need to. If you can't get someone to read it aloud to you, you can always try a text to speech feature where the computer reads it to you. Not as good, but it will highlight mistakes that you might have skimmed over yourself.
4. If you didn't get a friend to read it before, get them to do it now to ensure that your profile communicates what you think it does. Get them to tell you what you think it said, in their own words. Was what they thought congruent with your intent?
5. Now, I want you to read it aloud in a stalker or pornstar voice. Is it offensive? Then change it. Creepy? Change it! No one is going to be doing you any favours online, so don't make them need to. If it could be misinterpreted in any way, change it.
After you have done all that, it's time to take it live!
Feeling panicked yet? Here are some tips on proof reading work.
1. Cut 10%. Okay, that's not a hard and fast rule, but I want you to go through and try to cut out as much as you can while still keeping the same meaning. Do you have superfluous words that add nothing to your message? The cleaner and sharper your writing, the clearer your message will be. Make sure that every word is fulfilling a vital purpose. Otherwise, kill it.
2. Sepll-Chekecr. It sounds redundant, but ensure the presence of spell-checkers where you're writing. You ought to be writing your profile in a Word editor program, as this means that you can save it and edit it/think about it/work on it over a number of days. Some browsers also don't have a spell-checker built in, so you would need to copy and paste it into a Word editor anyway, writing it directly onto the webpage means you probably aren't considering it closely enough.
3. Read it aloud. Try to always read your work aloud. It is even better if you can get a friend to read it aloud, because then you will be able to hear where other people struggle with phrasing or meaning. If you have to explain to your friend that it should be read a certain way, then you have failed in your writing. You never get a chance to explain to your reader, so make sure you don't need to. If you can't get someone to read it aloud to you, you can always try a text to speech feature where the computer reads it to you. Not as good, but it will highlight mistakes that you might have skimmed over yourself.
4. If you didn't get a friend to read it before, get them to do it now to ensure that your profile communicates what you think it does. Get them to tell you what you think it said, in their own words. Was what they thought congruent with your intent?
5. Now, I want you to read it aloud in a stalker or pornstar voice. Is it offensive? Then change it. Creepy? Change it! No one is going to be doing you any favours online, so don't make them need to. If it could be misinterpreted in any way, change it.
After you have done all that, it's time to take it live!
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Want more advice on writing well? Check out Buffy Greentree's website 100 first drafts
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