»Is the Internet Creating Better or Worse Writers?«
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| Number of users, who voted: 14 Number of counted votes: 14 |
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As someone who edits people's writing for a living, I have a keen interest in how different people write. I have seen some excellent writing on this site, and I am especially impressed by the younger members' writing who post regularly (Kupov, sangu, nocturnal_anonymous, etc.) What I am curious about is, do you all think that the rise of text-based Internet search engines like Google is creating a generation of really good writers or really bad writers? What about blogs and forums like this one? One trend in Internet writing that I find kind of silly is fan fiction...to me, the fun part about writing fiction is creating your own premise and working with it. It seems to me that the only reason one would write a fan-fic is (a) because one is insecure about one's own ideas; or (b) one wants to get as many Google hits as possible by incorporating already-popular characters and situations into new fiction. Of course, it might be just for fun, but I think it's inevitably going to lead to less originality in the fiction writers of tomorrow. However, blogs and forums are creating more competition for all kinds of writers, which makes it harder for people to "break through" with new work. This might be a good thing, and it might lead to a proliferation of new ideas that normally wouldn't be accepted or published. Anyway, what do you think? posted by holy_of_holies |
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| in-my-opinion.orgTechnology, Computers, Science, InternetComputers and InternetIs the Internet Creating Better or Worse Writers? |
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 well for one thing, i'm not being graded for capitalization or anything anymore so i hardly capitalize as you can see by my i's just as long as i get my point across and you can read it coherently, i'm not too concerned <--oh and these missing periods must drive you mad 
oh and i think it's making worse writers  posted by The ONEder Man |
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The ONEder Man: well for one thing, i'm not being graded for capitalization or anything anymore so i hardly capitalize as you can see by my i's
just as long as i get my point across and you can read it coherently, i'm not too concerned <--oh and these missing periods must drive you mad No, actually I don't mind as long as I don't have to fix it all like I do at work...haha. The ONEder Man: oh and i think it's making worse writers Do you mean in terms of content or usage (grammar, spelling, etc.)? Because I see the usage stuff as really unimportant, and it's a shame that that's what we emphasize in schools over creativity... posted by holy_of_holies |
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 holy_of_holies: I see the usage stuff as really unimportant, and it's a shame that that's what we emphasize in schools over creativity... i completely agree with you on that for sure...the kids i taught last year, their grammer above all else was horrid! i couldn't even get through a sentance without reading it twice. its ironic because all teachers emphasize esp. in primary grades is grammar grammar grammar...teachers always look past the content of the piece and focus on the grammatical errors that need to be corrected. even in grade 6, i would read their work and be like...holy crap this is an amazing story but at the same time, im required to assign them a mark based on their understanding of grammar, syntax, vocab etc. which might not be as strong so they could have written an amazing piece but their grammar is WAY OFF so they end up getting a crap mark (not by my own choice but that's another thread) so instead i assign them creative writing time where they write whatever they want, about anything, for like 1/2h to 1h per day and they can share it with the rest of the class, with me or no one at all and they love it! because at that point its all about the ideas and the creativity rather than their being limited in writing because they're focused too much on making sure the grammar is right. i don't assign them a mark either because i don't beleive in marking creativity based on set academic standards but anyways that's a bit off topic. i think internet writing is all about the principal of least effort. if you can get your point across using condensed words or skipping capitals, punctuations etc like ONEder said and as long as the people you are writing to understand what you're saying and write on the same casual level as you do, i don't think it matters. if you are writing a formal email however, to your boss or a stranger i tend to be a bit more correct. posted by gkiss |
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Yeah, so true. My mother works in K-12 standardized testing, and she told me the other day that they are getting ready to use a computer instead of a person to check the essays for the test she develops. They used to have two actual people checking each essay; now it will be one person as well as a computer. I was like, "Huh? that don't make sense!" It's a cost saving measure, but still, it's a bad precedent. What if you have like young James Joyce - awesome writer, weird style - taking that test, and the computer doesn't like it...I don't mean to sound old-fashioned, but that is one area where I think you need at least two people to read each essay. posted by holy_of_holies |
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exactly... well im completely against standardized testing altogether to be honest with you...i think its all bullshit...me and the rest of the teachers ive worked with. how can a computer mark an essay that a child writes? its just looking for grammatical errors and not creativity which is what writing is supposed to be right? holy_of_holies: What if you have like young James Joyce - awesome writer, weird style - taking that test, and the computer doesn't like it... so true...its such a shame, i hate it with a passion. what does your mom think of it? posted by gkiss |
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Standardized testing? Well she's all for it, mostly because she saw what a horrible time I had in school even though I was in every gifted class they had. I think there has to be some standardized assessment of progress, especially for college entrance, just because of the sheer numbers of students involved. But as for making them constantly test and test and test, well I think it's a little out of control. Some kids actually make terrible grades but test very well, while some are more diligent students but have trouble with tests. So I think there should be other criteria than just the test, especially when it comes to writing. But then you have the problem of schools passing kids who can't read, write, or do math properly just because they don't want them to feel bad. That kind of thing was what started the K-12 standardized testing craze in this country...now we have schools that will mark the wrong answers in the test booklet so the kid can only pick the right one, because the schools are afraid of getting a poor score for their overall student body. There are a lot of cheaters out there... posted by holy_of_holies |
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 From my own experiences in writing both creatively from my own imagination and writing fan fiction for both the matrix and starwars. coupled with reading other peoples' creations online...i can safely say that most of it is total tripe...including my own i do it mostly during time off from university just to keep up my typing rate and to keep the imagination going i can understand your concern over fan fiction but i do it because i can create something that others can connect with instantly and they will be more likely to read something with a familair concept than something i have created as my own story for instance i wrote a story called intifada, based on the palestine/israel conflict and seen from the eyes of 2 boys both born on the same day on different sides of the divide it was emotionally powerful but factually inaccurate as i don't know all that much about what actually goes on in that part of the world no-one will get to read it partly because i feel even if i did post it in a blog...no-one would bother reading it anyway i do however intend on posting a SW fan fiction i am currently writing...but not on this forum 
as for writing standards...they are going down the plug hole due to the wave of internet abbreviations and text message short hand that most young adults now have more experience of than classical english literature even just last year the English exam standards for spelling and punctuation were lowered in favour of expression... so should the artistic expression of language be more important than technical ability?...is fictional and emotive writing more important than factual and more media based writing? i don't know how to answer that...perhaps writers would be better off if they specialised in one of those disciplines rather than both...perhaps that way we would get more fact based newspapers without creative lies...and better and more emotionally powerful novels instead of technically sound trash that seems to top the best sellers lists continuously posted by the anomaly |
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I used to post my stories all over the place, just to get them read, and what surprised me was that the people who read stories on forums, blogs, etc., are really quite good at reading critically, which is an important skill. When I think of standards of writing, I am always reminded of the Elizabethan writers like Shakespeare, Marlowe, Donne etc...all poets, but still they weren't that concerned with grammar or spelling...but now we have this electronic hivemind that tells us if we transpose two letters we will be unable to find what we want in the search engine... Are you (were you) studying English, anomaly? posted by holy_of_holies |
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Are you (were you) studying English, anomaly? i had to do an English qualification to get into the forensic science course i'm currently on at university why do you ask? posted by the anomaly |
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Oh, just curious. I've read your posts; your expression is quite good. posted by holy_of_holies |
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the anomaly: for instance i wrote a story called intifada, based on the palestine/israel conflict and seen from the eyes of 2 boys both born on the same day on different sides of the divide
it was emotionally powerful but factually inaccurate as i don't know all that much about what actually goes on in that part of the world no-one will get to read it partly because i feel even if i did post it in a blog...no-one would bother reading it anyway what are you talking about? i would TOTALLY read that...did you give it a shot? you never know what people's response to it would be. i personally would like to read it and if you let me that would be awesome but if you don't want me too its cool too. it would be interesting i think... posted by gkiss |
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gkiss: what are you talking about? i would TOTALLY read that...did you give it a shot? you never know what people's response to it would be. i personally would like to read it and if you let me that would be awesome but if you don't want me too its cool too. it would be interesting i think... somtime perhaps the 2 main problems are that it was never fully completed and the other even bigger problem is that it was hand written (another skill which is going out the window) and could take more time than i can spare to transfer it to the computer but perhaps posted by the anomaly |
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hahah ok no worries i thought you typed it up! but yeah one day perhaps...did you do any other writing online? what else do you write? i think im going to start writing too, you two have inspired me. h_o_h can you be my personal editor?  posted by gkiss |
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In exchange for certain... how do you say...favors? 
posted by holy_of_holies |
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