My Writing Style
Over the years I've scribbled many notes on various subjects which I intended to expand into presentable
articles someday. Well, time passes. At my age I'm faced with the prospect of exiting this world sooner or
later (the calendar suggests, not much later) without having left even one presentable article with my name
on it. It's time to get busy.
Shucks ... it's been a long time since I went to school ... wasn't much of a scholar anyway so I don't remember
a lot about writing. After constructing a few articles I realized that I needed a little help. I have a good book on
writing called "The St. Martin's Handbook". It has 876 pages not counting the Preface, Note to Students, Contents, 29 pages of Introduction, and a huge Index.
After thumbing through a few chapters I realized that my grammar, punctuation, mechanics, spelling and all
the other aspects of good writing are beyond my reach. But I do have good ideas and worthy subjects so I do intend to continue putting these into words. But how do I warn my readers that my writing style is mostly homemade, unconventional, and even laughable sometimes? So I figured out what my writing style is.
I call it:
"Modified Redneck "
The American Heritage Dictionary says the word "redneck" is: "1. Used as a disparaging term for a member
of the white rural laboring class, especially in the southern United States; and, 2. A white person regarded as having a provincial, conservitave, often bigoted attitude."
I do fit a part of that definition: I'm white, from the laboring class, and from the south. I'm not completely conservitave and I certainly don't think I'm bigoted. So I'm not a complete redneck.
The word "modified" means "altered". So, I guess I'm a "Modified Redneck."
My Writing Style
"Redneck" excuses me from the rules that govern good writing practices.
"Modified" means that I'm not a run-of-the-mill redneck.
Because my writing style is
"
Modified Redneck" you now know why a learned reader might snicker
at my simple writing abilities, why I intend to keep writing anyway, and why I call my writing style
"Modified Redneck".
Doug
