Standards

I find myself very impatient with people. As flawed as I am, I can't take it for one second when people display the few frailties I don't have, and also the ones that I do have. Writing is one area that I like to consider a strength, and so when I see it done poorly, that really gets me. I don't happen to be perfect at writing. Lots of people are better at it, and even those who aren't have often made more of their gifts in that area than I, but I still am harsh in my judgment.

When I read scripts, it often bugs me to find that the grammar, spelling and formatting are all in terrible shape. Sometimes this is from people who aren't writing any better than I would expect them to speak, but sometimes it's people who I'd never guess write so poorly. I could find myself reading something that has some real promise to it (from a person who could express the idea verbally and leave me sensing no trouble) but get waylaid by the unfortunate manner in which it's expressed on the page.

In such cases as this, I remind myself of what my options are. Either I must do something about what bothers me, or I must deal with it. If I'm to do something, it must be to take up the responsibility of educating those who offend with their writing, and of persuading them to do anything differently. That sounds like a lot of thankless work to me. I haven't myself done all I'd like to, and that's without spending a lot of time to push anyone else towards their goals.

Besides that, would it really satisfy me to iron out all these problems for people who I don't always think have any promise anyway? Poor spelling is seldom the biggest problem they have, and I don't know what you do about someone who lacks particular talent. I'm sure all this sounds very conceited and arrogant, and so it probably is. I don't know it all, and one of the things I don't know is how to sound any humbler about this particular thing.

That brings me to the other option I have, which is to deal with this stuff. Like I said, my own affairs are hardly in order. If I focus on that, I should hardly find myself in any position to fret a lot over other people and the troubles they have in writing. I'll be all too busy succeeding with my own. Maybe then I'll be more disposed to helping, so much improved will my disposition be without a lot of bitterness. We'll just see if that comes to pass.