Monday, November 23, 2015

There, they’re, their. You’re and your. By Linda S. Glaz



Ah, yes. These words have been thorns in author—editors’ sides forever. We see blog posts on them, FB posts on them, and they lead as the greatest pet peeve in most every set of writing tips. They all boil down to one main thing. The individual has not proofread their work sufficiently.

In our rush when someone wants to look at our work, we tend to hurry through the most important process: proofing our work. Anyone can put down words and tell a story, but not everyone can make it shine.

We justify the rushed job by saying the agent or editors wants to see it now. They won’t wait. They might take someone else’s project. And all of these are possibilities. But I would rather someone made me wait than to receive their work done in a haphazard manner.

We write. We rewrite. And then we write again until the product is the absolute best that it can be. It should be. 

As Christian authors our goal can nothing less than our best. Otherwise, we give a poor example to the world of what is possible. And of what we expect of ourselves. And of our true calling. Are we writing to draw others to Christ? Are we writing to make buckets of money? Are we writing to tell stories and entertain people? All reasons should receive the same, meticulous care.

Do your best. If it isn’t the absolute best writing, then address it again. And again. And again. And again, until it is.


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