Why is my writing getting worse?

[fleabag]

Since about 10th grade in Highschool my writing skills have been getting worse and I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced such a thing and whether or not it could be attributed to any one thing. The only thing I can think of is that I think I'm really impatient when I'm writing and so I just try to write as quickly as possible with no regard to how well I'm writing. Anyone have this issue? It's becoming a problem because now when I write essays in school, I'll be in a panic for like 30 minutes during a 50 minute writing test and then I'll just try to write as quickly as possible, with the end result being a jumbled mess. I was kind of hoping some people were already familiar with some of my postings and how they sound like an incoherent mess and maybe could give me some tips or insight as to how I could help with this. I just worry I'm going to sound like Moonbeam in the near future, if not worse..

 

[theflyingpig]

This problem is easily correctable. First you must adopt a persona, preferably one that is similar to what you really are but less restrained. Next you must go online and create a fictional life for your new persona. This will require writing. Biographies, profiles, and postings to further flesh out your character. Finally, you must find a message board to post as your new persona. You will have to write copious amounts of notes so as to not ever break character. Doing this will solve your problems. This is a promise. I give you my word,and my word is my bond. Everyone knows this.

 

[CZroe]

I've been routinely surprised by things I have casually written 8, 9, 9+ years ago, thinking that I couldn't express such complex things without multiple attempts, edits, and a night of re-writes in in the last several years. I attributed it to years of graveyard-shift sleep deprivation and a possible concussion (got hit in the head and saw a bright flash; may not have been a concussion).

 

[StageLeft]

interwebs. Mine hasn't gotten worse; I can write decently when I need to, but on the internet I just often don't, so presumably over time this lack of structure will chip away at whatever I used to have left.

 

[jackson2009]

probably cos you write less and less, im always typing so much, my hand writing has become shocking!

 

[judasmachine]

writing is a like a muscle, you exercise it and it grows, you neglect it atrophies.

 

[CZroe]

People: READ. He still had most of high school to complete. He's not talking about it getting worse due to disuse.

I'm not either. I'm directly comparing apples to apples including posts made then vs. now.

 

[fleabag]

The problem is, I feel like I've been writing more than I have ever before, though the majority of it is on the internet. While I try to have good grammar and sentence structure, it seems like it has only gotten worse which just seems so counter intuitive to me.

 

[CZroe]

Originally posted by: fleabag
The problem is, I feel like I've been writing more than I have ever before, though the majority of it is on the internet. While I try to have good grammar and sentence structure, it seems like it has only gotten worse which just seems so counter intuitive to me.

Same here.

 

[Rastus]

ya

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: fleabag
Since about 10th grade in Highschool my writing skills have been getting worse and I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced such a thing and whether or not it could be attributed to any one thing. The only thing I can think of is that I think I'm really impatient when I'm writing and so I just try to write as quickly as possible with no regard to how well I'm writing. Anyone have this issue? It's becoming a problem because now when I write essays in school, I'll be in a panic for like 30 minutes during a 50 minute writing test and then I'll just try to write as quickly as possible, with the end result being a jumbled mess. I was kind of hoping some people were already familiar with some of my postings and how they sound like an incoherent mess and maybe could give me some tips or insight as to how I could help with this. I just worry I'm going to sound like Moonbeam in the near future, if not worse..

do you find you are generally a hyperactive person?

 

[Blackjack200]

Originally posted by: moshquerade

do you find you are generally a hyperactive person?

Uh oh, maybe be time for amphetamines

 

[darkxshade]

Because you started hanging around ATOT

 

[IronWing]

Everybody's writing is getting worse. Just before flipping back to ATOT and clicking this thread I read a news article containing the following: But our state is also home to a less-widely-known topographic treasure: an alpine-style mountain range..."

 

[fleabag]

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: fleabag
Since about 10th grade in Highschool my writing skills have been getting worse and I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced such a thing and whether or not it could be attributed to any one thing. The only thing I can think of is that I think I'm really impatient when I'm writing and so I just try to write as quickly as possible with no regard to how well I'm writing. Anyone have this issue? It's becoming a problem because now when I write essays in school, I'll be in a panic for like 30 minutes during a 50 minute writing test and then I'll just try to write as quickly as possible, with the end result being a jumbled mess. I was kind of hoping some people were already familiar with some of my postings and how they sound like an incoherent mess and maybe could give me some tips or insight as to how I could help with this. I just worry I'm going to sound like Moonbeam in the near future, if not worse..

do you find you are generally a hyperactive person?

no.......

 

[Cogman]

I felt like that at one time, Then I went back and re-read some of the things that I had written. My writing didn't become worse, I just became more aware of how bad it is now.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Could it be that most of your writing is for those timed essays? If so, then yeah, it'll seem like your writing is in decline.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: jackson2009
probably cos you write less and less, im always typing so much, my hand writing has become shocking!

And your grammar is even more shocking!

 

[SandEagle]

Originally posted by: fleabag
Since about 10th grade in Highschool my writing skills have been getting worse and I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced such a thing and whether or not it could be attributed to any one thing. The only thing I can think of is that I think I'm really impatient when I'm writing and so I just try to write as quickly as possible with no regard to how well I'm writing. Anyone have this issue? It's becoming a problem because now when I write essays in school, I'll be in a panic for like 30 minutes during a 50 minute writing test and then I'll just try to write as quickly as possible, with the end result being a jumbled mess. I was kind of hoping some people were already familiar with some of my postings and how they sound like an incoherent mess and maybe could give me some tips or insight as to how I could help with this. I just worry I'm going to sound like Moonbeam in the near future, if not worse..

sorry OP, i can't comprehend your incoherent babbling due to your awful writing skills

 

[911paramedic]

The tougher the course, the faster you need to write.

I now know why doctors writing is illegible.

 

[nerp]

Take a writing course. Read more.

 

[Miramonti]

Sometimes things affect us and our nervous system more as we get older, like excessive caffeine, stress, lack of exercise, poor diet etc. I don't think my handwriting could ever be as neat as it was when younger, even if I write more.

 

[gwlam12]

I personally think we learn how to write well by reading books, but when we are online, we spend time reading stuff written online by others. We then start to adapt their habits - poor grammar, incorrect spelling, etc; - and make it a habit for ourselves. Or are you talking about writing to express your ideas?

 

[fleabag]

Originally posted by: gwlam12
I personally think we learn how to write well by reading books, but when we are online, we spend time reading stuff written online by others. We then start to adapt their habits - poor grammar, incorrect spelling, etc; - and make it a habit for ourselves. Or are you talking about writing to express your ideas?

Uh....both? You do make a good point though, people learn good writing from reading and I haven't been reading a whole lot of well written material but instead poorly written or hastily written material. Also it would make sense for my writing to decline after 10th grade because in 10th grade, I had to read a lot of literature for my English class and since then, while the amount of reading I do hasn't declined and may in fact have increased, the things I read are either extremely technical or online postings that aren't written to the best of standards.. I guess the solution is to try and read stuff that will most closely match the writing style I'll be writing for.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Schizophrenia, it's a bitch.