Thank God for last minute edits

[TheEarl]

My latest story is just in the process of being considered for submission and I noticed a minor punctuation error. It annoyed me, so I decided to go through the entire story and found this gem.

The cold wooden flaw was a shock to her bare feet, but Dawn experienced it only distantly.

God knows how that got in. Just glad that I spotted it before I got 50 e-mails about the error.

The Earl

 

[NoJo]

Seems fine to me. Unless you meant "claw".

 

[TheEarl]

Joe, are you being sarky? The word I actually meant was floor.

The Earl

 

[Monazwx]

It's interesting that your flaw was actually the word "flaw".

Be glad you caught before you sent it in.
Lit. Authors would have flamed you for that one.

 

[Pookie]

The word I actually meant was floor.

The Earl

I thought you were just trying to use a southern accent.

Pookie

 

[TheEarl]

Especially after I posted on the Editors forum bemoaning the errant use of homophones.

I guess irony can be pretty ironic sometimes.

The Earl

 

[NoJo]

Joe, are you being sarky? The word I actually meant was floor.

The Earl

Sorry, Earl, I did get your typo, it was just my dry tumor.

 

[TheEarl]

Sorry Joe, didn't get it. Slow on the uptake today.

The Earl

 

[NoJo]

No worries. Actually, I'm slightly dyslexic (really), and I rely heavily on a spell-checker. I'm very paranoid about my own spelling, because of situations like yours, when you accidently make a real word. I had "he went over to his wife's to try and make pease" in one of my stories. I read them about twenty times, and notice about five typos once they'e posted.

 

[wildsweetone]

Now I can't help myself, I have to let you know Weird Harold's suggestion because it really works.

When you've been typing your story and/or editing for a while, (for me it's about half an hour), your eyes tend to see what is meant to be there, not what is actually there.

The best advice I've seen yet, is something WH suggested. Change the font on your work and then go through it with a fine tooth comb, you'll be amazed at the differences you can spot. If you have Irlen Syndrome it can help to change the colour of your typing too.

Personally, a final editing with different font and colour seems to be the best thing for me. The whole story can easily be changed back into the correct font after you've looked through it.

Try it! I highly recommend it.

 

[jfinn]

Now I can't help myself, I have to let you know Weird Harold's suggestion because it really works.

When you've been typing your story and/or editing for a while, (for me it's about half an hour), your eyes tend to see what is meant to be there, not what is actually there.

The best advice I've seen yet, is something WH suggested. Change the font on your work and then go through it with a fine tooth comb, you'll be amazed at the differences you can spot. If you have Irlen Syndrome it can help to change the colour of your typing too.

Personally, a final editing with different font and colour seems to be the best thing for me. The whole story can easily be changed back into the correct font after you've looked through it.

Try it! I highly recommend it.

I agree this works quite well. Another thing I'll do sometimes when my editor is AWOL and I'm on my own is print a hard copy. It's amazing how much different it looks when you're literally looking at it from a different angle.

Jayne

 

[Madame Manga]

Yes, print a hard copy, change the font--and read through it backwards! That's very useful--if the sentences aren't flowing forward the way they usually do, you are less likely to just skim over an error.

MM

 

[wildsweetone]

alternatively, you could always shout for help. i'm sure another author would love to check over your work for you Earl

 

[TheEarl]

Thank WSO: I'll try that next time. Usually all sorts of errors slip past my re-reads. Partly because I'm impatient to post the story up and can't be bothered to wait, but mostly because my eyes just skim the text, without actually seeing what's there.

The only reason I've noticed this one is because this story has taken me fucking ages to write and I actually finished 90% of it 3 months ago. Due to RL problems, a lack of energy and writer's block, the last scene took ages to write and due to other circumstances, it hasn't been posted yet. I've had time away from the bulk of the story and it has helped. Not only have I removed any niggling errors, it's given me a chance ot appreciate how much I enjoyed this story.

Bloody glad that it's finished obviously, but happy in the knowledge that this is the best thing I've ever written.

The Earl

 

[wildsweetone]

I'd like to read it when it's accepted dear. Please let me know