So with that in mind I'd like to thank the reviewer who pointed out a number of grammatical inconsistencies in my free novel Rebels. I've taken the criticism on the chin, in the constructive, good natured spirit, in which it was intended and I'm currently hard at work correcting them. All being well I'll be releasing a less grammatically offensive version of Rebels in the near future. I'm not going to say 100% grammatically correct because I know it won't be. Once that's done I will also be subjecting its sequel Exiles to a similar process.
Obviously I could have saved myself a lot of grief and embarrassment by getting someone whose in tune with my grammatical foibles to edit and proof read it for me, but I've never been a fan of outsourcing. Its far better to face your demons than pass the buck to someone else. Besides I'm a great believer in the axiom that we learn by doing. As Aristotle once said, "For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them."
I know dyslexia is a highly emotive topic and the mere mention of it can provoke strong reactions. To some its simply an excuse for carelessness, a lack of attention to detail, an excuse for producing sub-standard, sloppy work. Others view it as a symptom of low educational attainment, a polite way of saying you're not very bright. Others still see you as the victim of a liberal educational system, where creativity and expressing yourself is more important than how you do it. I've experienced all these attitudes and more, so let's nail the myths.
I worked for a number of years in the IT industry, travelling half way round the world, business class, at the clients expense. You don't get to do that if the product you produce is sloppy or sub-standard. I would wager that I have a far better understanding of the strict syntactic rules of some computer languages than I do the idiosyncrasies of English grammar. Ironically, perhaps, one of my professional strengths was the ability to tease out the errors in other peoples code.
With regards to the low educational attainment and IQ myth I have two degrees. A Peace Studies BA (Hons) from Bradford University School of Peace Studies and a Psychology BSc (Hons) from the Open University. I also turned down the opportunity to do a fully funded Masters Degree in applied social sciences at Oxford University in the mid 1980's. That could have seen me rubbing shoulders with David Cameron (UK Prime Minster) and Boris Johnson (Mayor of London). That particular chapter of my life is worth a blog post in its own right. One day perhaps?
Finally, to be clear, I've never seen myself as a victim of a liberal educational system or anything else for that matter. In fact I see myself as one of the beneficiaries of it. As one of the last pupils in England to sit the 11-plus, before the introduction of the comprehensive system, I failed it and failed it quite miserably. I was destined for a life of mediocrity, under achievement and menial jobs. Thanks to the frankly excellent teachers in my comprehensive school, who taught me that your best is never good enough, you can always do better, I've had a rich and rewarding life.
The most important lesson I took from my education was not what to think, but how to think. True, under the traditional, old fashioned system, of learning by rote my grammar might have been marginally better. But my critical thinking, imagination and life opportunities would have been severely diminished. And that for me is a price worth paying.
Incidentally for those of you spitting grammatical feathers by this point, I know I've started the previous two sentences with a conjunction. But according to the Plain English Campaign a sentence should be short, contain a single idea, and it's perfectly acceptable to start it with a conjunction. Principles that I apply when writing copy for my employers intranet and internet sites in my day job.