The #1 Thing You Must Never Do in Writing

Never get proper nouns wrong.

This is the one thing I have been most careful about in my over 10 years as a writer.

Not getting proper nouns wrong means writing correctly. It sounds obvious, but that is exactly why you should be conscious of it.

Of course, as humans, we sometimes make mistakes. However, when you realize you have made one, there is a world of difference between someone who lets it slide and someone who corrects it immediately.

Since the beginning of my career as a writer, editors have repeatedly and sternly told me, "Never get proper nouns wrong." I used to wish, "I hope no proper nouns appear in this text so I don't make a mistake."

I still think it was truly good that I experienced that kind of tension.

Writing correctly is a form of respect.

Why is it so bad to get proper nouns wrong?

There are various reasons, but

I believe the biggest one is that writing proper nouns correctly is a sign of respect for the other party.

That is what I think.

My maiden name was quite rare, and it was often misread and misspelled. When I was in elementary school, new teachers would mispronounce it in strange ways, and my classmates would tease me.

What I felt at those times was not anger or sadness.

It was disappointment.

I would feel that this person (who got my name wrong) wasn't really interested in me and didn't value me. That is how it felt, regardless of the facts.

By the way, this might just be me, but misspellings hurt more than mispronunciations. I've gotten used to mispronunciations and don't even correct them anymore, but I still feel a bit uneasy when my name is misspelled.

If this is a feeling shared by many people, not just me—

For a writer, misspelling a proper noun is, after all, fatal.

Put love into every interpunct "・" as well.

While we might call it a 'writing error' in a single word, there are actually many different types.

In particular, I think the parts that are most easily mistaken are the parts that are not pronounced when reading.

For example, uppercase and lowercase letters in the alphabet can be confusing.

↑ Can you answer this immediately?

The answer is 'note'.

When verifying the answer, I basically check the official website of the organization associated with that proper noun.

Another thing that is easy to get wrong is the presence or absence of the middle dot '・'.

↑ This example isn't just about the presence or absence of the middle dot, but I think it clearly shows that you can't write it correctly if you don't know it.

When I was a beginner writer, I was involved in a lot of interviews and writing related to schools.

The names of integrated junior and senior high schools have various patterns, and they are a real nightmare for writers. Even the people who belong to them might not be able to write them correctly. But that is exactly why I insisted on writing them correctly with love.

Sometimes, even if you look at the official website, the official name is not clear.

In that case, I mark the manuscript with 'needs verification' and check with the editor. ← This action alone sends a message that 'I care about this'.

Things that will not change, even 100 years from now

No matter how much the times change, the importance of proper nouns will not change.

And neither will the desire to be 'treated with care'.

……Or so I think.

In the future, generative AI will likely continue to evolve and become more accurate. We might even be able to leave the task of writing proper nouns correctly to it. (← Be careful, as it still makes mistakes without hesitation for now!)

However, what will happen if we become insensitive to proper nouns and other such important things?

Even now, generative AI models are 'learning' from the texts we have left behind in the past. This means that we, as humans—especially those of us who are 'current writers'—bear a great responsibility.

I suddenly thought of that, which is why I wrote this article.

As I write this, I find myself wondering if I've been doing okay lately...

Let's continue to keep writing with love! It's a promise!