The machete like pen
Do you recall the scene in Indiana Jones, the last crusade when Henry Jones Sr is mucking about and accidentally kills someone with a pen? Denholm Elliot’s character quips “The pen is mightier than the sword…” 
Over at Blokes on the Blog, Nick Gendler writes about how intention to be well meaning in word usage, also hurts whether written or spoken. He makes some very good points especially about the use of language in the workplace and for those leaving the workplace.
While we all know the power of words, written or spoken and their impact on others, it doesn’t stop some writers unleashing their “power” whenever they feel like it, especially on the internet. Some call it flaming or trolling and others just ignore it, it’s only online.
I have discovered that the more you write, the better you become at it, and like physics where every action has an equal and opposite, the same applies in writing. There is an opposite school of thought that you cannot learn to be a writer; you are born one. They appear to be at odds with each other.
Those born with the writing gift have the right to use it on any person that aspires to share thoughts in the form of the written word. Their pen becomes a machete and they are the arbiter of the written word, of what is good and what is not. God forbid you like something that in their eyes is badly written, grammatically incorrect or has a typo, the reader becomes just as bad as the writer for gaining enjoyment. They sharpen their quills… They make their pen become a machete and hack, hack, hack…
The internet is a fascinating place for the machete pen master, all these lowly bloggers writing about their day, writing their thoughts, writing advice, writing for themselves mainly, but learning. The machete pen master feels that they are violating their own sacred space, where words have meaning and thoughtfully provides a service of ridiculing them. Sometimes the ridicule is thinly and badly disguised as a critique. It’s a well received service by some, where aspiring writers get support from other writers and badly received by others who see the venom for what it is, unabridged nastiness for daring to write.
Writing critiquing done correctly is hugely beneficial. Ann has a fab support group of writers, I am lucky some of them talk to me in various places and share their stories of collaboration. Suze has a fantastic book where she provides the most amazing support to writers looking to write non fiction. So writing support and help can be done expertly and help people improve their skill.
What happens when people’s criticism is unwanted? I try and critique only when invited but I am useless because I tend to like most things I read and look beyond the words. If the words are failing to paint an image in my head or evoking a feeling then I move on, swiftly. It’s not for me, my absence of words should be enough 
Want does the uninvited critique’r gain from adding their opinions unwanted? Because nobody does anything for nothing – right? so they must gain something from doing this – a pen that really is mightier than the sword?
About Sarah ArrowSarah Arrow is the managing editor of Birds on the Blog, in real life she is the communications director of a same day courier service. She is an enthusiastic UK based pro-blogger and co- author of the soon to be published Zero to Blogger
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13 Responses to The machete like pen
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There's a big difference between being able to write well, and having something good to say. I have a feeling the people who nitpick over small errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation etc. do so because although they could edit out the small technical goofs in the piece concerned, they couldn't come up with the ideas in it in the first place. A case of sour grapes, I reckon.
Much as writing is my career, I must point out that it is a craft, not an artform. And what's more, good writing skills should be seen as a vehicle to enable you to express your ideas well. “Good writers,” in the broader sense, are people with great ideas who are able to get them across effectively.
Sarah, you've always had some great ideas and I'm so pleased for you that your technical writing skills are getting better and better, so your ideas come across with verve and vibrance.
Wearing my editing hat, it does bother me to see really bad punctuation, spelling, grammar, etc (certainly NOT the case with you, Sarah) … but that's what editors are for – to clean up those goofs, and to help the original author express him or herself clearly and accurately. And here I'm really going to slit my own throat … the majority of editors are NOT good writers…..!!
Twitter: SuzeStMWrites
One of my earliest experiences of this form of cruelty was on a textile arts mailing list – oddly enough.
I say oddly because they were my first internet experience and I now know that in comparison to some online communities they were sweet and well behaved and kind. It was mostly female of course, but just a random group of people from all over the world who shared an interest in embroidery.
A new member joined whose posts were completely chaotic – full of really bad spelling mistakes and grammatical errors – to the point where they were quite difficult to read.
Even in this kind community there were a few of these language police and they pounced, and pounced hard. One actually said, “If you can't be bothered to make an effort then you aren't welcome in our group.”
The list went quiet for a couple of days and then the newcomer responded. She'd asked someone to help her and she explained that she had severe dyslexia, and that was it – she could either participate in her own way, or she would have to leave because she couldn't expect other people to post for her.
In the same post she also shared pictures of her work – her skills were breathtaking, the art was beautiful.
She added that she knew it was infuriating but she really wanted to share her art with us, and see our work and be a part of it all.
Of course we all welcomed her, and apologised without reservation. And it wasn't really all that hard to live with – and she was a very generous member of the group in passing on skills and swapping work and threads and the like.
I learned something important from that, but really it is something we all know. We don't all have the same skills and fluency with the written language – but we do all have something to offer.
I reckon myself to be reasonably fluent, and I'm not too bad at grammar and spelling and the like – but I am by no means perfect. Apart from anything else I find some of the rules have changed since I was at school!
But I do find that when I am tired and unwell, I am particularly prone to typos. There are some I make at the best of times too.
So I get a bit narked when the grammar and spelling police pick me up on those mistakes – I don't see why I should have to restrict myself to not commenting or writing when I'm tired and ill – often that's the very time I want to be online chatting on FB or whatever.
Mostly I ignore them, but I do find it is basically rude and unkind to pick someone up on how they express themselves if they haven't asked for help.
Rude and unkind – those are worse sins in my book than any amount of misspelling and grammatical errors. Up with them I will not put
A smile has crossed my mind whilst reading this- a few hours earlier, I was thinking about how I got into this whole blogging thing and i remember you asking me in one of the ecademy forums whether I had a blog. I had one but was not confident about telling anyone about it but your prized this information from me somehow!
Thank you for your kind words, and not telling me off for writing about writing
Indeed Ann, you have shown an example of someone being pounced on when they just had an issue with one of the many forms of communication, I glad it got sorted swiftly and you could all enjoy her knowledge.
I do have an issue with all this txt spk, maybe if I could do it, I wouldn't
My apologies Ida, I shall be more gentle on the prizing front in future
You have something to say, and it's great that you express it in writing. That's what really matters.
Twitter: SuzeStMWrites
ooh, It has done me a whole lot of good, looked at how many blogs I contribute to now 2 years on!
I've been on both sides. <g>
For most of my adult life I was a 'perfect proofer', spelling and punctuation errors leapt off the page, interrupted my reading and caused real upset. I never used it to criticise another writer for one-upmanship purposes (unless they really deserved it lol) but I did make a decent living proofreading and copy editing once upon a time.
Since my most recent ME flareup a couple of years ago I have totally lost that part of my brain. For a long time I couldn't read at all, and that is still difficult, although improving. It's frustrating that I can't see mistakes at all, and of course writing is generally harder too. The gags used to flow effortlessly but now I have to get my son to check my writing for me. He is very supportive, and good at telling me whether a piece reads like it used to, or whether there are bits I have to look at again.
I am on an email list of persnickety people who love to make jokes of typos and castigate the lazy punctuator and actually I find it quite useful. I used to share the joke but now I can use it to go back and look carefully at what I missed.
It's also great to have the chance to guest-blog from time to time, practise without pressure.
So, unwittingly, the Birds have been helping with my recovery. Thanks ladies.
I'm sorry to say I belong to the spelling and grammar-police by nature, and I have to fight the urge to correct mistakes made by other people! Knowing Ann's embroidery story now will make that a bit easier.
Sadly, Suze is probably right that I nitpick because I can't come up with the great ideas.
I think it's actually a valuable skill, Morag – to be honest, as I'm revising and editing my stories I know I could do with a little bit more of it myself. Even back at school I was always being told off for being slapdash – and I'll never be able to forgive myself for submitting a story to a competition with the type of Dog for God.
*sigh*
I just think there's a time to turn it on and off.
And I bet you are harder on yourself than on anyone else. Just look at what you've just said, about nitpicking because you can't come up with great idea. I KNOW that's nonsense
You have lots of ideas and creativity, and the ability to write fluently too.