Writing for posterity. How long will your words be around? In the past writers hoped their words would outlast the worms that ate the paper and glue in their books. Now, our words could easily outlast several generations of our families, friends and co-workers. Kind of a funny feeling to think you might be talking about yourself long after you're gone.

Does it make you feel paranoid? Do you suddenly want to edit every email you ever wrote? Get over it. None of us are perfect. Our flaws will be what we are remembered for more than our perfections.

That doesn't mean you should be careless about it. Think about what you write, write it better, clearer. Make it last. If you keep your writing clear it won't become outdated any time soon. Clear, concise language is always in fashion.

Using obscure words, fad words will really date everything you type. Dated language is necessary if you are writing about a certain time period. It's part of bringing the reader into the scene, and maintaining the atmosphere through the story. If you pick up an old paperback at Goodwill or some likely place, can you guess the age of the paperback by the writing style alone? How many of those trendy words have since been retired? How many did you not even understand or remember?

You can't do anything about big changes like computers, space flight and child proof bottle caps. But, you can watch your language, avoid trendy words.

Happy writing.