You want to rain on my parade? I'll put my umbrella up

 Grab my wellies, splash in the puddles and feel sorry for you.

(source: Pinterest)

Why do some people feel the need to make disparaging remarks?

Does it make them feel good to make others feel bad?

Once I asked someone that, and they looked baffled. As far as they were concerned they were 'just pointing out my mistake'. Which is all well and good, up to a point. That point doesn't need to be laboured.

If It makes them happy, I'll block them out of my mind. If it's about my writing I'll decide if it is justified or not. Sort it if it needs sorting, ignore it if not. (Being told that English was obviously not my first language because I wrote labour and not labor wasn't worth the breath or energy to point out it was a book about the UK written by a UK author etc etc...

I've decided not to argue, or try to put my point of view over. That will just feed their desire to go further. 

It's sad really. that to make themselves feel superior or, I don't know, special, they take a delight in pointing out your mistakes, be they large or small. And often hammering the point. Over and over.

And sometimes I think a lot of those remarks are especially aimed at authors. Well known or not.

Is that me being paranoid?

Maybe. But how many times have you heard, 'that's not what we/I would say'? 

Or even this, which was said to me, once, many years ago. 'If you spell w****y like that a large part of your maybe readers will think it's a typo.'

To which I replied 'and if I spell it like you want me to, not only will a large part of my maybe readers be up in arms at my lack of knowledge about the country I live in, my husband will divorce me'!  

When I told him that, he roared with laughter. (He worked for a w****y company.) However, he agreed over the up in arms bit.)

It's strange that people can't accept there are some difference in spelling, depending on what you are describing, where you live and so on. And that some words seem weird to one person and totally normal to the next. Diaper, nappy. Hood, bonnet, trunk, boot...

I remember years ago reading a book set in New Zealand. The heroine slipped her jandals on. Now I did wonder if that was a typo, but I didn't get all holier than thou and righteous about it. I looked it up (in the library, no such thing as the net in those days) and discovered it was the NZ word for what I call flip-flops and Aussies call thongs. 

(source: my own, old, well travelled and well worn—me and the flip-flops!)

Mind you, I did have a giggle though when on holiday in Australia a sign on a pub door read 'no thongs or singlets allowed'. I had visions of ladies having to take off their vest tops and undies! 

But to go back to the miseries who get joy from trying to make others less happy. Next time you try to rain on my parade—beware. Not only do umbrellas have spikes, my wellies are super-cool and have a rather hard toe on them!

Happy Reading, 

(hope you don't find too many mistakes)

love, Raven xxx