Notes #31 - The Squiggly Red Underline of Death
Notes From an Amateur Writer #31
THE SQUIGGLY RED UNDERLINE OF DEATH
This Blog series is an exercise in creative writing. Sometimes expressed in short story forms, sometimes as a journal, or just my thoughts written down. This is my attempt to help coalesce my writing ideas and knowledge into usable form. It is a nursery of sorts for the stories that are on their way, or yet to be written.
The Weird Way I Spell
The squiggly red underline keeps on following me around. Reminding me that my spelling can be atrocious at times. Although I think that perhaps it has more to do with the fact that I think quicker than I can write. I don't know short hand, never took the time to learn it. My long hand was always bad enough. Why create a code to obfuscate what already appeared at times to be undecipherable?
Which brings me back to the squiggly red underline. What is it telling me when there are no replacement word suggestions for that word that I have spelt incorrectly? Have I butchered it that badly?
That red line doesn't exist when I write directly into my journal. It doesn't intrude on the perfectly manicured grasp of the English language I have fooled myself into believing that I have. Apart from the illegible scribble that floats across the pages. Would short hand help me with my scribble? Shorter scribble perhaps? At least then it would take less time to reach the conclusion that I can't read my own hand writing. Or code writing. Or whatever it is that sits on the page staring back at me. Taunting me with its hieroglyphics.
In My Day
I keep getting nostalgic for the times when I never used to be nostalgic.
I used to have nice hand writing. At its worse you could still describe it as readable. I remember those days. They weren't that long ago. Okay, probably pre-computers. The stone age. Well at least I could write like a human being back in those days. Now it's all tappity-tap-tap. And that's fine I suppose. Time keeps moving forward. We keep evolving. Things change. Except men. I think us men all end up grumpy and complaining about how things used to be. I'm just embracing my grumpiness. Getting in early (not that early, some would say).
Now all I have to do is figure out how to evade that squiggly red underline of death.
The Inside of Weirdness
Wierd. That is how you spell that I word. I know it is. Squiggly red line appears. Taunting me with its know it all attitude. I look up the word myself, my trust in the red line's accuracy shattered from years of abuse. I check Google. Google knows everything. Google is my friend.
Wierd. What? Why is it asking me Did you mean: weird? Have I been spelling it incorrectly all this time? No, not possible. Is it?
Self doubt? Where did you come from?
And you call yourself a writer?
I am a writer. Google is wrong. Micrososft Word is wrong. I am correct.
Aren't I?
Goddamn squiggly red underline of death.
All images used with permission, and sourced from Unsplash.com.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you liked it then please like, comment, and follow
@naquoya
Short Fiction:
Bang Bang You're Dead
I Have No Name and I Must Scream
The Last Book Store
The Judge
The Man In The Mirror
The End of the World [Part 1] [Part 2]
The Locked Room
The Gods of Love and War [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]
Crossroads
Heart's a Mess
Blasphemous
Jonathan and the Dance of the Leaves
Woot! I'm glad to have quote this when it was minute's old. This was such a fun and entertaining installment of the Notes! As to why I wasn't the first to comment, that's because I ate dinner immediately after I voted on this. I'm so giddy to see this making above $80 as of writing! Warms my heart to see that others recognize the magnificence of @naquoya :'D
Who does that squiggly red line think he is huh?? We. Are. Writers. Writers are never wrong when it comes to writing. Heck, it's in our title goddamnit!! We shape the language to how we see fit. I would be remiss if we ever bow down to lesser beings. It's a bit hard for me to admit, but I, too, have fallen victim to that wretched thing. Most especially when I write something purely in Filipino. All red everywhere, you couldn't imagene. Yes, that's right. Deal with it you mewling red cretin. Defiance is ingrained in my DNA.
HUHU The title of my semi-weekly series :(
I saw your vote come in early. But that's cool with regards the timing of your comment. Maybe you should have written "Nice Post" instantly. I'm like that too, I like to vote first chance I get with those who are supportive of me (if I am around when the post is published), but I may not have the chance to read it and give it my full attention there and then.
Yes, my last couple of posts have received some Blocktrade glitter sprinklings on the, And perhaps there are a couple of others in there too. It's a nice little boost and always appreciated. Not as much as the consistent respect of my 'regulars', but still I'm not going to knock it. As you well know from your own efforts, a lot of hard work goes into writing these, so the sharing of the whale love does help.
I've never seen a foreign squiggly red line. I'm into equality, and consider all red lines to hold equal value, but something about the way you described that Filipino one had me shaking in my boots. I have a hard enough time dealing with the English one.
Thank you for your ever creative and detailed comments :)
I have you on my auto-vote list at 100% (of course) so I don't worry about missing your posts. How were you able to get that Blocktrade glitter? I would love to have that kind of boost on a regular basis haha! Ever since HF19, I've gotten, well, the boot. It's weird because it came at a time when I felt the most hopeful and motivated.
My dictionary is automatically set to English, so every Filipino word has a red squiggly. Well, except those that have an English equivalent but have a different meaning haha!
I need to set up the auto vote too. I stopped using that a while back. I hunt down any posts I may have missed, but as you've noticed occasionally some slip through. But until I do have an auto vote then I make it a habit to check your page often.
Ah yes, the English dictionary would reject Filipino words. It rejects many of mine too, and I am under the illusion that I am writing in English. So what chance do you have when trying to incorporate other words?
I still hunt down posts I have missed, but I set up autovote for when my internet goes wonky or I'm not able to go online for days. Since I don't have a lot of people in my autovote list, that's the same one I go through to check the profiles, yours included of course.
As for the Blocktrades votes, not sure if it's pure luck, or part luck or not. He shares his vote with many people every day, so probably just the right time.
I go through stages with regards to how many votes/value of votes. I think that's the self doubting writer in me wondering what it means if I get x number of votes but so and so got y then am I really that bad, lol. It's pathetic, but its also fodder for creativity.
Interaction and genuine feedback is what will help us the most in terms of writing abilities and careers. Sure, wont put more Steem in our accounts or food on the table, but gotta start somewhere.
Oh lucky! I remember that account voting for my posts along with Curie, but that was it. My account seems like it was sprayed with whale repellent for some reason haha! I totally get what you mean about the votes and self-doubt. I think it's unavoidable. It's less stressful to just feel the self-doubt when it occurs.
Yeah, I won't ever complain about the awesome interaction I've been getting. Some more STEEM would be nice though.
Whale repellent, lol. Perhaps their sonars are all broken. Keeps sending them to the same trending posts over and over again. Like those beaches they keep stranding themselves on.
It works for them, so yeah. I'm happy with the dolphins and other marine life analogies I share a frequency with :)
We are on the road traveling so I missed this post when I first came up. Congratulations on your payouts I see they really increasing I hope you didn't have to make a pact with the Devil. I think your subject on this is one everyone can relate to in school I was a horrible speller and it hasn't gotten much better. I'm always doubting myself right up to the last minute especially when it comes to lay or lie. If I'm not mistaken Bob Dylan got that one wrong it should have been lie lady lie lie across my big brass bed.
My pact with the Devil requires monthly instalments and i must have missed a payment as I got overlooked this time :)
It's the luck of the draw I suppose. Not that I am complaining.
Lay and lie are a doubling tricky one. Because they are both correct spelling, and that red line has no idea about correct word use or grammar, just spelling. And if Bob Dylan got it wrong, then what chance us mere mortals?
I simply cannot spell guarantee (oh shit, I just spelt it right the first time, but apparently spelt is not a word.)
Guarantee gets me also (not this time thanks to you showing the way).
As for spelt, well isn't that a grain? And if you spelled it spelt then you spelled it correctly. Except that it is also the past and past participle of spell (Google told me that) so it is a word. One with more than one meaning. And that's
wierdweird. Just like so many English words - weird, spelt, guarantee. Say them too many times and they even stop sounding like actual words. Ahhhhh.Goddamn English language.
I have a headache now.
I have that affect on people.
Loved it and especially loved this quite
I think that kind of sums up the last eight years of my life ;-)
I remember watching the adults in my life when I was younger and how they all reminisced about their youth. It felt so foreign. Not any more. That quote came from that experience.
Thanks for your comment.
You are welcome and thanks for another great post, you really are a gifted writer :-)
Really appreciate that :)
This is fantastic. I used to be able to write too. Nowadays I look like I am sketching lobsters.
Wierd isn't it? ;0)
I feel like a Lobster when I pick up a pen now. What is this strange contraption?. And my hands feel so clunky trying to uncover its secrets. Life is very wierd/weird/weered (thank God, because I need more strangenesses to write about).
I feel the same way. At least I get the right end to paper mostly :0)
And that ain't as easy as it sounds.
I love the squiggly red underline of death -- except when I forget to change the language settings on whatever document I'm working on, and all of my Canadian spelling gets flagged. But I'm the kind of writing nerd that stresses about spelling mistakes in text messages.
Still, I'm sure some free-hand, free-thought writing exercises would do me good, because worrying about spelling when you're trying to capture a good idea can certainly be distracting.
I have a similar problem. Being Australian I speak and write the Queens English. All very proper, even if my accent sounds anything but. My computer on the other hand keeps wanting me to be American. If it gave me a Green Card then sure I'll consider, but it ends up leaving me confused. Sometimes I have a hard time remembering which English is which.
The text spelling made me laugh. I'm like this too. No text speak for me. Proper spelling. I can't help it.
Thanks for your comment.
Yeah, what it takes to actually be a writer has definitely changed over the years. I'm in your boat, my handwriting is pretty poor unless I fall back on old calligraphy lessons... But even though the actual physical part of writing is easier nowadays, I still find reasons to keep me from putting pen to paper (so to speak). Good to see you again! Its hard to keep up with everyone's work, but super important. Cheers!
Thank god for the computer I suppose. I still like to write in a journal, but I think it's my ideas flow just a bit quicker than i can jot them down, and the end result is a bit of a mess.
Oh god... that red line! Being German its a constant sword of Damocles above my head, when I write in English. Of course it is also a well appreciated "tool" to prevent me making a complete fool out of myself.
Only becomes real annoying, when the Firefox update won't accept a language setting and everything I write in German is underlined.
Great story! Thank you for leaving a comment on my work so I could find this. Will certainly enjoy to read more :-)
I can imagine the dilemma when you also write in another language. Several people have told me about that. My problem is my inability to use my own language correctly. God help my computer should I attempt to communicate in a second language.
Thanks for your comment.
I love it!
Thank you :)