I recently attended a small business class which provided information about the topic of blogging. Someone in the class made a comment about the fact that she is sad to see blogging replace “real journalism” because it’s such an impulsive form of writing. One of the things that she mentioned about this was that so many blogs and web articles are filled with typos. When the conversation came around to my turn, I shocked the class by saying that I really don’t mind typos. In fact, I kind of like them. What?! That’s not something that a full-time writer is supposed to say.
Why a Writer Might Like Typos
Don’t get me wrong; if a piece of writing is filled with misspellings and errors then I’m probably not going to enjoy reading the piece. However, if there are one or two typos in a long article then I’m not going to look down upon the author for the errors. In fact, I’m probably going to enjoy the piece a little bit more. Here are some of the reasons that I like typos:
• It’s almost like an inside joke for the reader. When I see a typo in a piece of writing, I feel an instant moment of connection with the author. It’s like this wink that says, “ha, ha, I know what you meant to write”.
• Sometimes typos are just plain funny. I have a friend who is a hairstylist. She was frustrated with the other stylists in her salon because they weren’t cleaning out their hair dye bowls regularly enough. She penned a memo asking them to “please clean out their bowels after every client”. I’m sorry; that’s just plain funny.
• Typos show the human side of the writer. Sometimes it can seem so difficult to believe that an author is just another human being. They’re published. They’re an authority on a topic. They know something that we don’t know, right? Wrong. A typo now and then reminds us of their humanity. It makes me feel like writing is something that I can do, too, even if I make a mistake now and then.
• It means that content is more important than form. I love to read wonderful poetic prose that describes a great idea in an eloquent manner. However, I think that we too often get lured in by pretty prose and don’t actually consider the content of a piece carefully enough. If a piece is good in content in spite of a few typos then I think this means it’s a really good piece.
This Isn’t an Excuse to be Lazy
I love typos. I think they’re funny and they’re fine. I don’t believe that they say anything negative about the author of the piece unless they are excessive or completely inappropriate. However, I recognize that the majority of the reading / writing world does not feel this way about typos. People will judge you for the typos that you make. Some of those judgments may include:
• That the author isn’t smart and / or can’t spell.
• That the author is too lazy to proofread his own work.
• That the author really needs an editor and can’t get one because she’s too poor / too snobby/ too difficult to work with.
• That the author doesn’t care about his work.
• That the author is a sloppy writer.
• That the author doesn’t take herself seriously (so we shouldn’t either as readers).
These are just a few of the things that people might assume about you if you have typos in your work. Therefore, it’s important to proofread your work and to weed out typos vigilantly in spite of the fact that there are some of us who don’t mind typos at all. Whenever I do writing for a client, I proofread my work for typos. I don’t want anyone thinking these things about my client’s websites or blogs. Liking typos myself doesn’t mean that I get to be lazy about them in my writing.
It’s a Changing World
One thing that I’ve noticed is that the majority of people who seem to think like me about typos tend to come from a younger generation. They come from the era of automatic spell check systems and intentionally-abbreviated text messages. As the way that we communicate changes, I believe that the emphasis on typos as a problem is going to change. Fewer people will care about a typo here and there. Writing on the web changes so quickly that most people aren’t even going to see the online typo before the story is replaced with a new one.
Ah, but what about typos in books you might ask? You know what? I think that typos in books are the best typos ever. They are rare. When I come across one, I share a private laugh with the author across time. I wonder who the editor of the book was and why the typo wasn’t caught. And I think to myself, “well, if this book can be so great even though there’s a typo in it then it is a really terrific book.”
What do you think about typos in writing?
Comments & Discussion
What do you think about typos in writing?
You are utterly wrong, but let me address your troll.
• It’s almost like an inside joke for the reader. When I see a typo in a piece of writing, I feel an instant moment of connection with the author. It’s like this wink that says, “ha, ha, I know what you meant to write”.
'Almost like ... a joke' means something isn't funny.
It is not the author's job to connect themselves with the reader. That's sappy, vainglorious egotism.
It is the author's job to connect the Story with the Reader.
• Sometimes typos are just plain funny. I have a friend who is a hairstylist. She was frustrated with the other stylists in her salon because they weren’t cleaning out their hair dye bowls regularly enough. She penned a memo asking them to “please clean out their bowels after every client”. I’m sorry; that’s just plain funny.
Yes. The humour derives from the humilition of the author. On this occasion it turned out scatalogically amusing. Bravo. Again: the interference with the message.
• Typos show the human side of the writer. Sometimes it can seem so difficult to believe that an author is just another human being. They’re published. They’re an authority on a topic. They know something that we don’t know, right? Wrong. A typo now and then reminds us of their humanity. It makes me feel like writing is something that I can do, too, even if I make a mistake now and then.
You're doing nothing but repeating your first point here.
• It means that content is more important than form. I love to read wonderful poetic prose that describes a great idea in an eloquent manner. However, I think that we too often get lured in by pretty prose and don’t actually consider the content of a piece carefully enough. If a piece is good in content in spite of a few typos then I think this means it’s a really good piece.
If you say prose is petty I will drown your children. /
If u sai proz iz peti ill drwn yr kidz. /
One of those sentences has form and determination.
It is the author's job to connect the Story with the Reader.
I think Kathryn is talking about writing articles or non-fiction, so there's not necessarily a story to speak of. Incidentally, I think the second half of her post pretty much agrees with everything you say, so there's that, too.
Typos are a reality, and I often see them even in professionally published and edited work. There's only so much you can do in the endless--and ultimately futile--fight against deprecation and entropy.
Typos are a reality.
Too right. But every undull text is structured on story. Also, I'm disturbed at her confusion of "laughing with" for "laughing at". Naturally, this is something I laugh decidedly at.
May I pray in aid the word authority?
Also, I'm disturbed at her confusion of "laughing with" for "laughing at".
This is Internet! The former is a euphemism for the latter.
This is Internet! The former is a[n] euphemism for the latter!
Thank God! If this was a writers' forum, I'd be embarassed.
Even worse, compare with their vs. there. The thing I've noticed most is that people rely on spellchecks to their detriment, because they don't stop to read what the spellcheck says is okay. Your spellcheck can't catch the difference between read and red, bead and bread, and so on. People have forgotten to check their own work because they're relying on the machine to do it for them.
Note: The choice of article is actually based upon the phonetic (sound) quality of the first letter in a word, not on the orthographic (written) representation of the letter. If the first letter makes a vowel-type sound, you use "an"; if the first letter would make a consonant-type sound, you use "a." So, if you consider the rule from a phonetic perspective, there aren't any exceptions. Since the 'h' hasn't any phonetic representation, no audible sound, in the first exception, the sound that follows the article is a vowel; consequently, 'an' is used. In the second exception, the word-initial 'y' sound (unicorn) is actually a glide [j] phonetically, which has consonantal properties; consequently, it is treated as a consonant, requiring 'a'.
(source: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/591/01/)
Possibly UK-vs-US English at work, I suppose?
The thing I've noticed most is that people rely on spellchecks to their detriment, because they don't stop to read what the spellcheck says is okay.
Absolutely. Spellcheck is the devil, and I try to use it as rarely as possible!
Possibly UK-vs-US English at work, I suppose?
Not at all. Your honky ass just got dipthonged.
Stewart: Possibly UK-vs-US English at work, I suppose? Feng: Not at all. Your honky ass just got dipthonged.
Or, actually, mine just did. I have spent the last five minutes in front of a mirror making peculiar faces.
You are correct.
We have now connected as author and reader. Shall we mate?
We have now connected as author and reader. Shall we mate?
I have included a self-addressed stamped envelope with my personal details and address.
I'm a stickler for correctness, I almost feel I have to go to confession if a mistake gets through. In fiction anyway, a mistake breaks the spell, reminds us momentarily that what we're being told is a load of old baloney.
Having been a medical writer and also having worked in several medical facilities, I can say from experience that typos, and other inattention to verbal precision, can be deadly. A cavalier attitude toward how we communicate is rampant and getting worse with our modern trend toward multi-communicating: talking on the landline while talking on the cell phone, while the business cell (crackberry) is vibrating, while you type in a new key word in the search engine running on one of sixteen tabs open in Windows 7.0. Excessive typos exemplify this cavalier attitude.
If you argue that creative writing is exempt from adherence to strict rules, I would still disagree. I would echo a previous comment that there is a difference between a typographical error (a slip of the wrist left unseen) versus a disregard for correctness (as in an overreliance on a computerized spellchecker). Even in creative writing, you are sending a message. It is still possible to create serious inaccurate perceptions by mispelling. When spelling goes, then doesn't grammar go next? Then paragraph structure? Then story structure?
Typos are not admirable. Nor are they mortal sins. They are mistakes, and we should view them as such. Sure, some of them are funny. Lots of things are funny. But we should find joy in humor, not in typos.
p.s. cute piece
