Collected Thoughts

Then you have the people who, no matter how long they've been taking lessons, can't dance. They have no rhythm, their movement isn't smooth, it's just not working for them. However, they are out there dancing and having a good time. Dancing is fun, it's something they enjoy and so they go out and dance.

Ah, but the difference is, these 'bad' dancers are TRYING to learn. Sure, they may have no facility for it, but they're taking lessons, they're giving it the old college try, learning the steps, taking instruction, etc.

The type of bad writer I was talking about - or rather, the type that drives me bananas, are the ones who can't be BOTHERED to do the basic stuff like use spell check or watch the show or proofread for grammar/punctuation.

Those are things everyone can do, like taking dance lessons and at least attempting to *learn* the steps.

And those are the writers who consistently fall back on the "it's just a hobby, it doesn't need to be right as long as I enjoy it" defense.

If you take a different hobby, like say, skydiving, or flying, or something, you better make damn sure you learn everything you can or follow the rules and be the best you can be at it. But for some reason, it's okay to be half-assed about writing, because "it's just a hobby."

Sorry, this is just one of my hot-button issues.