Why Do I Continually Omit Words in Writing
"Here is your paper. You have very many sentences missing words, why do you think that happened?" This was the first time someone really comforted me with this hidden embarrassing and shamming trait in my writing. I was scared to answer. I didn't know what to say to them, because really didn't why that was happening.
As a literature student, it was embarrassing to be good with your arguments but have such mistakes in your work. I had to work twice as hard to make sure my train of thought was shared well in my discussions and deliberation on paper as they were in my speech. I would have to write fast and leave enough space for a word I might have missed so that when I do my re-reading I can fix it if I found it. Other times I would still miss it because in my mind the sentence is perfect as I had thought it and written it.
Up until now I still struggle with this. When I am still in the same state of mind and on the same train of thought, I miss out on the corrections that need to be done when I re-read my work. It would take me a day to go back to my work and re-read to see what I missed and do the necessary corrections.
For one who runs a content marketing agency, always creating communication materials and message-ables, this is where the embarrassment becomes guilt-ridden. Sharing a piece of content with missing words can be a turn-off for readers. One time a friend reached out, took me for lunch and had a conversation about my writing issues where he concluded and suggested that maybe I am dyslexia.
People, what a scare! I was not ready for that conclusion. I googled the disease immediately. Never had I been described like that. The hardest my teachers did was tell me maybe I have spelling problems and thus decide to jump the words I couldn't spell but could pronounce. Yeah, there was that spelling issue but this was to be blamed on the kindergarten school I only attended for 1 year.
Dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words (decoding), this wasn't me! I booked a session with a family doctor my uncle and had him find the doctor to help me.
"Your brain is too fast than your hands. Your tongue also very faster than your hands, that's why you'll never have this happen when you speak, only when you write", said the doctor after many writing sessions of him examining me. "Notice the word present in your head while typing a sentence. You'll notice that the word in your head is often a couple of words further along with the sentence than the one you are typing at that moment". He concluded with suggestions of almost the same things I had been doing like write and re-read two days later, find an editor, think slowly while typing.
Today, my close friends say I have a Subaru engine (my brain/mind) in a Vitz (body) hence the accidents that tend to happen in my writing, even in my idea development processes. My team says I can be so far ahead of my time with my thoughts and how I deliver them. "You are too fast and you always forget the good stuff afterward". On this one, we have settled with me recording my speeches so I remember and they can catch up too.
With spell checkers as an enabler on my gadgets, I have managed to have this underlap but sometimes it comes through and I have nothing to do about it… ( have you seen some of my tweets?! God!) Just own it and move on- that is me. But for client's work, my team is so deliberate at this and makes sure they catch it at all times. I even had an editor for my blogs, RIP Nevendar!
I can't change it but I have managed to own and use it to my advantage. Not have it limit or stop me from writing. I am even now writing a book. Someone called it an intelligence trait that I should be proud of and show off. But as with all things, there are negatives and positives. I will take any. So, if you are like me leave me a comment and let us throw a party celebrating our Subaru engines. Also, every good gift comes from God and worthy of celebration.
Source: http://patriciakahill.com/missing-out-words-while-typing-my-struggle/
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