A few thoughts on all the poor writing out there

I knew I was going to write something today; I just wasn’t sure what. Then I started reading, and I knew.

My editor points out that my strength in the business analysis writing space is my ability to write well. You would think that writing well has to be of great benefit in the writing field, but when so much of the news I read is poorly written I have to wonder if it even matters.

I don’t expect everyone to write well. I realize that it’s a craft and that some people’s lives don’t require them to be able to do it. Still, if you’re going to be a writer, I tend to expect it.

Almost everything I read these days has errors, and they all seem to be things that would be fixed with an editorial eye. This morning I have seen comma splices, missing words, and misused words. I have read eight or so articles, and I can’t recall one of them being without error. All of these articles were written by people who have many more readers than I, so I have to wonder how much it matters that I write well. What’s more, some of them were published on the sites of companies that have made their bones on well-written content.

It’s a bit of a disheartening feeling; this thing that should be able to help me to stand out against the competition doesn’t seem to matter as much when so many of those who are more established aren’t doing it. If writers aren’t writing well, and people are still reading, then it seems less advantageous that I do it. Still, we do what we do, I guess; that, plus a little faith, and maybe things will shake out.