The Myth Of ‘Proper’ Writing
I’ve recently been involved in a little discussion over on Facebook about ‘proper’ writing and how my daily writing for a particular day wasn’t ‘proper’ writing but was still writing.
Now you’re thinking lots of different things I’m sure.
Proper writing?
Do I mean writing using formal, even posh, English language?
Do I mean writing legalistically according to the rules of language, spelling and grammar?
Do I mean writing a book instead of a blog post?
So, what did I mean?
Well, in this case, I meant writing a Facebook post or comment instead of writing a formal ‘piece’ which I posted or saved on my laptop. It had no title, and was an informal response within a discussion.
But as it was long and discussed a lot of important issues, it might as well have been a saved piece or blog post. So I counted it as my daily writing for that day, and told those in the Facebook group I was accountable to I had done my writing, but it wasn’t ‘proper’ writing.
And then it all began. A discussion as to what I meant, as to why I’d used the term ‘proper’.
It got me thinking, what is ‘proper’ writing, really?
And what I began to realise very quickly, is ‘proper writing’ is just a myth.
Dispelling The Myth
We all know there are grammatical laws, basic things like correct spelling. But there’s some ‘lesser’ rules which not every writer uses. For example, you aren’t meant to begin sentences with ‘and’, yet I do it a lot.
Many argue we must stick to these rules for it to be a ‘proper’ piece of writing. That informal pieces like posts on a Facebook discussion on the latest issue, don’t count as ‘proper’ writing, and neither do pieces which break most of the rules.
This complete garbage though.
It’s all writing.
And it’s all ‘proper’ writing. It’s all valid. Useful. It’s all come from somewhere inside of us. Every word we scribe speaks something about who we truly are. (you can tweet that one)
We should be free to write how we like. And it doesn’t have to be a formal piece, or a saved piece on your laptop, a blog post or a book.
It can be a tweet, a Facebook status, a Facebook response, an e-mail.
These are all very different forms of writing, very distinct from each other. Yet all of them have something in common. They represent an outpouring of something inside of us. They come from within us. They are an expression of who we are.
If we’re going to be published, of course we need to have spelling, grammar and basic dimensions correct. No one can ultimately stand a book or even a blog post with appalling spelling or grammar.
But not all writing is published. And not many first drafts are the published drafts. When we do what my friend Jeff calls ‘free-writing’ (which personally is one of my favourite things to do), there are no rules.
There’s no such thing as ‘proper’ writing.
And even with published work, we are free to be our unique selves. Always.
If you want to improve as a writer, I would always advise writing daily. But don’t feel guilty if you didn’t write a masterpiece, or even a short blog post. If you’ve been involved in a discussion on Facebook or Twitter, if you’ve posted an interesting, thought-provoking post on social media, if you’ve poured part of yourself out in words today,
then you have written.
We all have words in us just waiting to be poured out. And some of these words might just be beneficial to others too. You’d be surprised how your story might resonate with someone. How your words might strike someone just at their point of need.
Yes, even you.
So go write. And remember there’s no such thing as ‘proper’ writing.
There’s your writing. There’s my writing. And many words and stories to share.
Are you with me?
Question for Reflection
Do you categorise your writing? What categories are useful, and which ones can we dispense with?
Let me know in the comments below!
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(Picture: Online Source)
Interesting post. Funny how people can get so caught up discussing whether something is or isn’t something. It’s pretty clear to me. If you are writing, you are writing. That’s all. It all counts.
Absolutely spot on Lisa Jey. Writing is writing, period. Glad you liked the post!
Great post! Also, have you updated your website? Looks different. I love it just the layout seems updated or something 😀
Hey Devani, thanks for the encouragement! I did get rid of the red backdrop to the banner, and also have made some minor adjustments on the sidebar, all to make it a bit cleaner. Glad you like it!
Great post. Even a letter to your grandma can be considered writing! Sometimes, my emails get to be epic in size. As you so well noted, writing is the placing of words to paper (or cyber) and should be counted as quantitative writing. That said, there are those who will contest it stating that it must be qualitative – meaning, being for, of or as a writing project. Bull-hockey! Writing, no matter the style, is writing. Be it a letter, a poem, a novel, a scientific or legal document or just a thank you note – it is a creative piece of writing.
Thanks Bob, I am totally familiar with the epic e-mail – written many in my day! And glad you agree it all counts as writing. Thanks for another great comment.
Very interesting post. As a non-native English speaker I must thank you for telling me it’s not a disaster, when there are errors in facebook posts for instance. Personally, I’m in a place where facebook posts don’t count for me, but that’s because I have other goals. Usually I don’t kategorize between good or bad, proper or inproper writing, but I find that some writing speaks to few or many people, and some writing speaks to yourself in some way or another.
Thanks for your comment Mariane, and really pleased the post resonated with you, and was a support to you. Absolutely agree with your point too – different writing speaks to different numbers and groups, and it always speaks to you.
Thanks again.
This is such a great post James, and read at just the right moment in my case – Iv’e not written any lengthy pieces recently, or blogged in a while (though I have been following prompts, and writing micropoetry daily)
I’ve been worrying (a lot) about not blogging, or writing more than numerous tweets,and a daily micropoem, and yet, as life is so difficult at the moment, making concentration difficult – I am unable to manage much more.
I’d never considered tweeting ect, as daily writing, even micro poetry (though I do enjoy it immensely) has felt like a bit of a cop out.
You have made me feel better – I HAVE been writing daily….Yah me! :o)
The lengthy outpourings will come when I’m ready.
Thanks James
Kimmie x
Hey Kimmie, you are so welcome. Thanks so much for your comment & encouragement. So glad the post spoke to you & was an encouragement to you. Really pleased this made you feel better about where you are.
Thanks Kimmie,
James.
I am guilty as charged. To me the only writing is when I work on my novel. Writing blog posts and responses to threads I don’t consider as writing because they come easy to me. The hard stuff, the fiction I work on seems like real writing. Now don’t get me wrong because I do realize that it is all writing. When I signed up for the 500 words a day challenge it was to write 500 words on my novel. Its the stuff I can’t seem to get to. A couple days when I didn’t get to it, I would count the other writing but it seemed like cheating a little. Everyone on the list said it wasn’t. So I would say I already have a daily writing practice it just that I am not writing as much as I would like in a certain area.
Kate, thanks for this great comment. In some ways I completely agree – I often feel like the only ‘real’ writing I do is for books, blog posts come a lot easier for me. And in one sense, the writing of books feels a lot more like ‘work’ – so in that sense, I’m totally with you.
I also believe we should never use the fact that ‘it’s all writing’ as an excuse not to tackle the meaty work of writing a book, or more in depth, difficult work.
But my point was whether it’s for the real meaty stuff, or the easier stuff, it’s all writing. Even if, at times, it’s not in the area we would want it to be – and I’ve struggled with this too.
Great comment – thank you.
Oh, this a new favourite. I LOVE this post! You have spoken on a theme that’s been resounding in me for a while. As I look at comments I make, scribbles of poetry, dabbles of prose, blog posts and morning muses, I’ve begun to see it all adds up as writing and it all enlarges and grows me as a writer/poet. We learn in the act of doing. In the act of pouring out art (messy or otherwise) we are mastering the craft. Much can be refined and polished at a later date. But the majority is what helps us find our voice and write for the sheer love of it, just as you are doing here, and exploring the freedom of full expression, no matter how we do it. That way lies enjoyment which adds to the wealth of experience we gain over time. Thanks, James! 🙂 x
Wow, thanks so much for this comment Joy, and your kind encouragement and support. Means so much to hear you say this. So glad the post resonated with you, and thanks for the wonderful comment. Thanks Joy!
I love this post. I struggle with writing every day, even if it’s just a few words in my journal. And I feel guilty when I forget my journal, don’t have a blog, or do anything writing-related.
But I like what you said about writing. The act of writing is its own reward, even if it’s responding to this post. I feel better as a writer knowing that what I write matters, for if it’s for an audience of one.
Thanks George – yep, I have a private blog which acts as a kind of journal, and ensure I at least write there every day. And I agree, writing is definitely it’s own reward. Thanks for the encouragement & the comment George.
This is very freeing…and I should read more posts like this to get as free as possible from the binding, choking noose of punctuation and grammar rules! lol but they really do put a damper on the creative flow of things. I love ellipses and dashes in my writing…I love how they flow and pause things but I guess they drive some people nuts because they view how they should “properly” or ‘properly’ be used…it’s all algebra to me and I just want to write! Well done James!
Thanks for the encouragement Gretchen, I’m really grateful. And yes, it’s good to get free from all those rules isn’t it!! lol. So glad this post helped you too, look forward to reading more of your work!!
Great post. I struggle with shifting between professional writing for my work, creative writing and journal writing….so many different expectations depending on the reader and situation.
Thanks for the comment & kind words Tara – glad the post resonated with you. Hope you manage to find a healthy way to write, which is liberating and allows you to express your authentic self.
I must admit I really don’t consider my social media discussions as part of my word count for a day. Blog post I do mainly because they are creative in nature and add to my “body of work.”
I wouldn’t say social media interactions are part of my writing for the day – though conversations on Twitter and longer posts on Facebook might be. But blog posts are great too, a fantastic space to create, totally agree. Thanks for the comment Lisa!
I categorize my writing as fiction and non-fiction. That’s about it. The rules of spelling, grammar and expression exist to make our writing comprehensible to our audience, so I try to apply them wherever I write, for whatever purpose. Yes, I am one of those people who has to use complete words in text messages, even though my fingers are just too big for the keyboard on my phone.
I do that a lot too Scott – great comment, glad the post resonated!
I’m with you on this one, James. Writing is writing. I’m also in Scott’s camp, as far as sticking to the rules — at least the ones that make for clarity — even when I’m writing with no intention of showing my work to anyone. Free writing, of course, is a different thing. Applying the discipline of rules would be counterproductive.
Thanks for this comment Charles, glad the post resonated, thanks for the encouragement & wisdom.