There are so many things that i wish i were better at, and one of them is punctuation. No doubt the previous sentence could use much better constuction. But, be that as it may, I write anyway --- often wishing I could better remember the rules (if I ever learned them correctly in the first place) or could instantly see alternate suggestions that could express the same thought better than I do.
The problem with striving for perfection in this (or in anything) is that the effort to be perfect in whatever one might attempt can be crippling. Perfectionists often get less done than those who simply do their best and accept their limitations.. That's not to say that we shouldn't try for excellence. Certainly we should. And, even though I am keenly aware that my efforts in this medium are far from perfect, and I wish I had the talent to communicate better, at least once in a while I find the courage to hit "publish" button anyway -- as I intend to do with this little post.
Maybe if I knew that The National Punctuation Day website existed before this, more of the unpublished posts I have written would have actually appeared.
Just as Spellcheck can actually be a great learning tool and make the user a better speller, so could a really good punctuation tool help anyone write more clearly and convincingly. The trouble that learning anything new or developing better competency in any effort takes time. But it is worth it. Learning is fun. Learning anything new or learning to do anything better is good for the brain.
Posted by Judi at September 24, 2011 12:21 AM | TrackBack