Why I write like a sane human being

A lot of people ask me how I got so good at writing, spelling, or just overall grammar.  My answer usually isn't what they expect: video games.

When I was a very young boy, I often had nothing to do except read, watch TV, or play games.  TV, for the most part, was pushed aside to Saturday mornings when the new Power Rangers would come on.  We never had enough books for me to read, so for the most part I was stuck playing video games.  Not games like Doom or Quake, but Diablo II, Red Alert II, Age of Empires II, and Civilization II.  The latter games were noted for their fast-paced multiplayer modes, which meant constant monitoring of your characters, armies, castles, and empires, respectively.  It also meant having to type fast and legibly for the other players lest your instructions be misconstrued into a fatal mistake.

The video games also taught me how to type fast with minimal mistakes because of their frenetic pace, and in the case of the latter two games they taught an extremely large amount of history for a seven and eight year old to pick up.  I would spend hours reading on history in Age of Empires II, and sometimes spend entire nights playing different civilizations (like the Egyptians or Indians or maybe the Native Americans) in Civ II. 

The combination of fast-pace typing, needing legible sentences, historical reading, and addictive playing all combined into an impromptu but highly effective course in how to write like a sane human being.