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Why Blogging Doesn’t Necessarily Improve Your Writing

4 August 2008 13 Comments

Decades ago, when I was a little girl listening intently in class, my teachers would often exhort us to keep journals, so that we might be able to improve our writing. These journals weren’t really specific; they were diary of sorts that we had to write in everyday. It wasn’t voluntary. We had to submit the journals by the end of the week so that our teachers might grade them.

I was sort of lazy then (as I am now), so I often wrote all my entries Friday morning, right before class starts. Not a good habit, but that’s how cramming goes.

Anyway, a post in Daily Writing Tips reminded me of this cardinal rule in writing, except that now it’s all online.  Instead of the journal in a crappy notebook, you now have blogs to write in for all the world to see.

But does blogging (and keeping a journal) really improve your writing?

I beg to disagree.

Here are a few reasons why I think blogging won’t really do wonders for your writing:

1. Practice doesn’t always make perfect.  This only works if you realize the errors you made with each attempt and improved on them.  The problem, though, is that most bloggers are caught in their own webs; they don’t really see the grammatical errors they commit, so there’s not a lot of room for improvement.

2. Insufficient feedback.  My grade school teacher would return our journals peppered with her comments and corrections.  Most bloggers don’t get that kind of feedback.  Comments rarely contain corrections, and if they did, they’re probably the seeds of a flame war.

3. Informal setting.  I know this really depends on the blogger, but I’ve seen several who use text-speak or shorthand to write in their blogs.  I cannot read steno.  It is not and will never be an acceptable form of actual writing.  The lack of standards and expectations online highly diminishes the motivation of the blogger to write properly.

Of course there are always exceptions to the rule, and it’s really up to the blogger to make the most out of this medium in terms of improving his writing skills.  It’s just that it might not be a good idea to put too much stock on blogging as a means to improve one’s writing.

XOXO,

13 Comments »

  • Laura said:

    Good post. Each of your points is very true. I think it is important to try to improve on your own as much as you can. But, being part of a writing group or network which you write for helps give you that feedback and catches errors you don’t know you are making. I’ve done that several times.

    Lauras last blog post..Green Thumb Sunday

    # 4 August 2008 at 9:46 am
  • Dan Walter said:

    A great invention few bloggers seem to have discovered is SPELL CHECK. I use it on nearly everything I write. Everything that may stay online “untill the cows come home” that is!

    Bloggers also need to check for common errors such as “you” for “your” and such terms as “me and Fred”… when I went to school it was always “Fred and me.” For some reason millions of people seem to have forgotten that one.

    And POLEEEEZE, no more “at the end of the day” comments! Jeeeesh, I just committed my number one peeve!!! :O/

    Great article. :O)

    Dan Walters last blog post..Jewelry On eBay - Free Software Now Ready for Downloading!

    # 4 August 2008 at 9:28 pm
  • miss-write (author) said:

    @Laura - that’s actually a great idea, having other bloggers give feedback on your writing. Unfortunately, those who need feedback most aren’t part of this online group. I just had my mind blown to pieces by a horrible blog. The grammar, spelling — everything was just horrible.

    @Dan - I don’t really use spellcheck by volition, I just never turn it off :D I do find it irritating sometimes when it forces me to use UK English. I know I can set it to American English, but it’s a bit stubborn at times, and you have to keep changing the setting. Anyway, thanks for dropping by :D

    # 4 August 2008 at 10:25 pm
  • Kat said:

    I have to agree with Miss Write on the spellcheck :) I usually ignore it, especially if I know it’s based on British English (which I sometimes use for the heck of it), but unless I really know the word’s misspelled, I mostly ignore it.

    Let’s not forget: Loose vs. Lose. I see that all the time in many blogs. I also believe that text and internet lingo has corrupted plenty of bloggers, which is pretty bad especially if you haven’t really grasped writing properly in the first place.

    Kats last blog post..Rainy Sunday

    # 5 August 2008 at 6:44 am
  • Does Blogging Make You a Better Writer? | Colloquium said:

    [...] so fast, according to Miss Write, who lists reasons “Why Blogging Doesn’t Necessarily Improve Your Writing,” [...]

    # 5 August 2008 at 7:03 am
  • pinaymommy said:

    My grammar is not that good but I try to make it readable as possible. It’s also true, people don’t make comments about the grammar because they want to avoid a blog war. Not all are open minded these days.

    pinaymommys last blog post..Info on Food and Drinks!!

    # 5 August 2008 at 9:11 am
  • miss-write (author) said:

    @kat - text lingo!!! I hate that so much. :( I know what you mean when you say “haven’t really grasped writing properly”. I just avoid sites like that.

    @pinaymommy - true, and it’s not really polite, too, since not everyone who blogs does so to be a better writer. You’ll just end up with a nasty flame war :D

    # 5 August 2008 at 10:57 am
  • Zriz said:

    Oh Miss Write, you took the words right out of my mouth! I remember our teacher who used to let us write journals every Friday like clock work. I hated it, and yet, I managed to scrape in a good grade! (lol)

    I do agree that texting and chatting has devalued “correct grammar.” Heck, people don’t seem to remember the basics of writing a sentence and when I read them, it drives me up the wall! It seems that as technology advances, people tend to go for “text writing” and omit vowels here and there. Of course, I’ve learned to read “text lingo” pretty well, but I loathe using it in my writing.

    I admit that I’m guilty when it comes to the dreaded spell checker because I actually use it. Oh, not to check my grammar as MS Word does (although it’s a bit helpful), but to check my spelling as I type! I am lazy when it comes to proofreading my work and sometimes, I type so fast that I keep getting typo’s!

    Although, I definitely agree that if you don’t take a hand in correcting and improving your writing, practice doesn’t make perfect. Since writing those memes where you need to produce an article, I have seen my writing change…just like what I said in Plurk: “I’ve found my long-lost love: writing.”

    Er, this is pretty long….sorry Miss Write! Loved the article!

    Zrizs last blog post..…then there’s studying

    # 5 August 2008 at 3:22 pm
  • Janette Toral said:

    I agree that blogging and even writing makes you a better writer unless you consciously read other good writers and review your own style writing frequently.

    In my recent book project, I took a day or two off from writing / editing and just surprised on the number of lapses I’ve made.

    I guess blogging can help improve writing if one is conscious in making improvements for every post one comes out with.

    Janette Torals last blog post..Blogging from Home book launch preparations

    # 6 August 2008 at 6:29 am
  • rimewire said:

    –

    Well, I beg to disagree to your disagreement.

    hakhak

    Although napakaminsan lang talaga na may nagpopoint-out ng grammatical errors sa mga posts ko, sa tingin ko eh natututo din ako. At dahil natututo ako, nagiimprove ‘ung wrting skill ko.

    Blogging is not just posting entries, it forces you to read other blogs. At kung hindi ako nagbablog eh di hindi ko sana to mababasa.

    hakhak

    elyens poreber

    XXXxx

    rimewires last blog post..Good Night and Good Luck

    # 10 August 2008 at 7:37 am
  • scatterhaiku said:

    good points raised. :) and regarding the first two points, it’s true, i’m sure, that frequent blogging by someone with bad writing habits, who isn’t receiving good feedback, will merely reinforce those bad habits.

    firefox does provide built-in spell checking, which is helpful.

    as for text speak, i came across at least one pinoy forum where posts are flagged precisely for that kind of writing. which is also a step in the right direction, thankfully.

    scatterhaikus last blog post..10 credit card haikus, #1

    # 12 August 2008 at 3:17 am
  • selenakyle said:

    depends on the person, i guess. if it is the writer’s very objective and thus, is conscious of the blog entries’ grammatical correctness, sentence structure, what-have-you and reads other blogs to become as exposed as possible to good writing, then bloggin can improve one’s writing.

    selenakyles last blog post..short bursts

    # 15 August 2008 at 2:11 pm
  • sterndal said:

    i’m guilty

    blogging for me is a hobby

    writing is actually my passion

    i really love it

    but i still need to improve my grammar

    i’m not good in english

    but i don’t like to write in Filipino

    because that would simply mean only filipinos will be able to understand my posts

    and most of my visitors are coming from the US

    sterndals last blog post..Unforgettable Mariam

    # 12 June 2009 at 2:27 am