Who cares a rat ass about Grammar

Sidekick. Yep, I am working as a side-kick to my senior colleague for a couple of years now. She’s the boss.  And whatever she says becomes the law of the office. And what does she say?  I am weak in punctuations, so I have no right to write web content, much less marketing collaterals. So she spearheads all the content work in the office, be it web content or marketing collaterals. The leftovers come to my table. So I’ve being nothing more than a *pushover* for many in my company. Labelled, good-for-nothing, my low-salary and my low-profile have given me many a depressing moments. Sometimes, to pacify myself, I just say to myself: who cares a rat ass? But the fact of the matter is: I do care. 

I’ve been a writer for more than 9 years now. Initially, I simply focused on words to impress people. But gradually I learnt that, it’s not words, but the feeling, the emotions that count. Big words are just a downer. Since then, I’ve tried to improve my writing style. But then, I gave a darn to Grammar. Grammar, was and never has been my strong point. Or rather, I’ve never tried focusing on it. The result being: the current job has been somewhat of a nightmare for me. (What with my senior colleague - going to be content head - being a Grammar fanatic.) This woman gave me very dickens for being so lazy and laid-back about Grammar. Where are your colons and semi-colons, Jini? What about n-dash and m-dashes? Oh-mine, mine, I never knew all these terms existed in my dictionary till I met this colleague of mine. Suddenly, I realized I was so illiterate. Little wonder, my salary has remained the same since a number of years. Her making hue and cry of my grammar errors not only came as an eye-opener for me but also for my bosses as well. (That explains my low package…sigh!!!) So much for the colleague. 

But is seems even Jesus seems to be on her side. For instance, I came across this Gospel passage Matthew 25:14-30 during my morning prayers. It says God doubly and triply rewards those who make the most of their talents, while takes away even the basic talent if one turns lazy and complacent.

When I finished reading this passage, I realized what I am doing with this God given talent. Even if it wasn’t a talent, it is something that I loved doing so often…reading and writing. So, it’s up to me to give my life to it and inject life into my writing my learning the nitty-gritties. To improve it day in and day out, rather than getting depressed and crying over the spilt milk. I knew, I can do nothing else better in this world.  So I have begun solving grammar exercises online, more often than not. I know this won’t be enough, unless I make it a routine thing for me. 

 The passage was a wake-up call for me. And I decided to pull up my socks or whatever. 

Conversely, Bryan Hutchinson’s emphasis on connection rather perfection, on concept rather than perfection in his post "Why so many blogs and books completely and utterly fail?" was sort of a compelling read that struck a perfect chord with me. You can find the blog post here:  http://positivewriter.com/blogs-books-fail/

Pray, may his tribe increase. 

 

“I am participating in the ‘Writing Contest: Overcoming Writer’s Doubt’ held by Positive Writer.” - See more at: http://positivewriter.com/writing-contest-doubt/#sthash.P7PZKPS5.dpuf

 I am participating in the writing contest: Overcoming writer's doubt held by Positive Writer.

“I am participating in the ‘Writing Contest: Overcoming Writer’s Doubt’ held by Positive Writer.” - See more at: http://positivewriter.com/writing-contest-doubt/#sthash.P7PZKPS5.dpuf