How do I tell my mom she's a lousy writer?

Question

We all know someone whose writing is painful—my mom is one of those people. I'd like to help her communicate better, but I'm not sure how to go about doing that. I wouldn't want to hand her Strunk & White, but her errors call for an explanation of the rules of comma placement and the like. Is there anyway to encourage a middle-aged woman to re-learn how to write without making her feel belittled?

Answer 1

A wise man said, "To stop wrong actions, do the right ones."

You can help your mom correct and improve her writing by teaching her different ways to write.

Ask your mom if it is okay for you to be her proofreader. Tell her that you will be looking at her work from a grammatical point of view.

When you proofread her work, circle the areas that need to be improved. Instead of telling your mom that her writing is wrong, show her how her writing will be better if it was written in a different way.

"You know mom, if you rearrange your sentences to look like this, your thoughts would be expressed better."

"Mom, I noticed that you always construct your sentences this way, when you do that, you are actually violating a rule of grammar about comma placement. If you place your commas in this way (replace the words "in this way" with the rule of grammar in practical application), your writing would be better."

Answer 2

You could try to put a positive spin on it.

Tell her that she's a GREAT writer,
it's just that she could try to be more careful with her spelling. And that maybe if she wouldn't jot things down in such a hurry and actually take the time to give everything a final read-through, she would probably catch her misspellings anyway.

I'm sure that the things she writes down all make sense and are perfectly fine. It's probably just her spelling and grammar that need some improvement.

You seem to have a good handle on spelling and grammar (can I guess? you have more formal education than your mom?). Maybe just point out one or two words to her that she mispelled and explain how those words are spelled. See how she reacts. Don't hit her over the head with commas and semi-colons.

She probably knows that she needs some improvement. But it's not easy to admit.

I think there are some online workshops on spelling and grammar. You could try to guide her along on something like that. Also great for mother-daughter bonding. Plus, she's probably proud that you know more than she does. So she must have done a lot right right in raising you.

Good luck!

Answer 3

wow u fairly r an outstanding author, and this isn't something that everybody can do u reported about ur marks no longer everybody can ace! u are a pragmatic lady and ur mom desires to confirm this and she will be able to sometime, n remorseful about how she dealt with u. sometime u will be even extra useful than ur different sister who dances plenty because training is the biggest ingredient, u will be particular to have a job in destiny, make as a lot as money u opt for and maximum critically brings u know for what u do, u have finished each little thing to make ur mom satisfied even issues u do not fairly savour yet ur mom has to love u the way u are even if u do not do all she likes. perhaps its because she is prevalent with ur so sturdy and thats why she expects plenty hun u are the purely individual who can help u should be solid and position self assurance in urself see how tremendous u r (from what u have written the following i truthfully kno that u are a pragmatic lady)and be positive, and note how each little thing will replace... and ur mom starts off respecting, cuz once u know urself others know u .. and that i promise each little thing will replace merely position self assurance in urself u r tremendous

Answer 4

I can't figure out your motivation for wanting to tell your mother such a hurtful thing. Does she write to amuse or entertain herself, or does she dream of becoming a successful, published author? Are you trying to help her, or to inflate your own self-importance by denigrating her writing?

Try compassion and respect, two things you owe your mother if you'd like to be a decent son. If she asks you for your opinion on her writing, you can say forthrightly that certain parts of it are strong ("you have a good story to tell") but that other parts need work ("the punctuation needs to be sharpened up").

If she's not asking you for your opinion, you may want to consider keeping your lip zipped. Your job is to be a good and loving son, not to instruct your mother on how to be a better writer.

Answer 5

How about discreetly placing the book "Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation" in a place where she can see it.

Answer 6

Just be honest with your mom. She should be able to respect your honestly. Isn't that what mothers want us to do....tell the truth? Just tell her, but be gentle. She is still your mom.

Answer 7

mommy thats now where those go...
you should put a comma there.
you should put a colen there
etc... if you keep give her hints she should feel a little dumb and pic up a grammer book, or if shes not one of those types. tell her! mom your writing isnt all that great! im telling you because i care. :]. hope i helped

Answer 8

don know
"mom u r a lousy writer.
while u r down
your chicken casserole sucks as well"

Answer 9

suggest using spell and grammar check on ms word

Answer 10

how about not telling her that she's not a lousy writer??? why break her heart??? i am sure there are plenty of things that u suck at too! JERK!!!