Tips for proofreading?

[Ardent1]

Your coming back to it later tactic is a good one. A lot of times, you get caught up in your own work and miss the simple things. You know the idea you want to express, so you gloss over the sentences, knowing what to expect. If you step away for a while, you get some fresh eyes on it. Also, using a word processing program will help a lot with the homophones (their, there, they're). Pay attention to the squiggly underlines. Another idea is to let someone else read it. Then you get a completely new set of eyes to look at it. They'll find out more than you ever could on your own.

I agree with this. Anything important should either have an actual editor look over it, or you should leave it for at least 2 weeks before reviewing it yourself. Longer is better. The problem is that we tend to know what we think we've said, rather than reading it as if we were a reader with no preconceptions.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

A friend of mine follows a strict self-editing regime.

Make a copy. Change font and have a large font size and use double or triple spacing.

Read slowly aloud.

The idea is to disconnect the brain from passing over what the eye/ear doesn't pick up.

Seems to work for her.

 

[SandraMustard]

My self-editing is barely good enough to not embarrass myself posting on forums. Hubby is very thorough (better with techniques learned here) and good for everyday story submissions. For a contest, we add one other editor. We used 4 outside editors on my novel and a couple beta-readers.

What is mentioned here is golden but like polish, each pass improves the result.

 

[glynndah]

I have found the easiest way to proofread a story is to wait until it's posted. Every time I do this, the errors JUMP right out.

 

[sr71plt]

I have found the easiest way to proofread a story is to wait until it's posted. Every time I do this, the errors JUMP right out.

Right.

 

[RDeLajour]

Personally, I like to print out my stories to edit them. I have noticed that the mistakes or corrections become glaringly apparent when I see them on paper. That's just me, though. Also, the more revisions, the better. Sometimes I read out certain passages to make sure it sounds okay, too.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Personally, I like to print out my stories to edit them. I have noticed that the mistakes or corrections become glaringly apparent when I see them on paper. That's just me, though.

a ha ha ha no, it is not just you

Printing is a good way to spot errors, but if you really want to make them jump out at you, get it bound in hardcover and then open it at any random page. At least, that's how it works for my dissertations...

 

[PervOtaku]

Of course self-proofreading isn't the ideal thing, but given the topic of stories here it's understandable. I've taken up the habit of rereading a story three times between finishing it and posting it. This gives a good chance to catch typos and things that should be wordsmithed a little to bring them more in line with your intentions. I've caught many problems on the third run-through that I'm amazed and ashamed that I missed before then.

 

[Tigersman]

Spellcheck

Relying on spellcheck when you are writing or editing is a big mistake unless you are using a syntax program as well. Spellcheck only tells you if the word is spelled correctly not if it is not the right word.

 

[49greg]

I have found the easiest way to proofread a story is to wait until it's posted. Every time I do this, the errors JUMP right out.

So very true!

 

[elfin_odalisque]

A piece of advice given by a lit author ages ago was to increase the size and the spacing then read the draft slowly out loud.

Seemed to work for her.

 

[visioneer]

I think the best advice from this thread is to not exclusively rely on spell and grammar checkers. They make too many mistakes. It's OK to use them, just don't assume you're done when all the red and green underlines are vanquished.

What works best for me is to set the piece aside for a few days, then either read it aloud or use the text-to-speech capability of my computer. While the voices that are part of operating systems tend to sound like bad 1960s sci-fi, they work well enough (I write on OS/X and Ubuntu). This also let's me simulate, for lack of a better word, the experience of a reader encountering the story for the first time. Beyond grammatical errors, this also helps catch odd/awkward phrasing and passages that ramble.

 

[_Lynn_]

My OCD doesn't like errors. Which means I can't keep writing until I've fixed them.

 

[RPGer]

Things to look for

I have only done technical writing, but I always found it best to get a compatriot who had not looked at the doc at all, to proofread. It worked very well. I wonder if you can get Literotica to set up a Share Doc With option similar to Google Docs to allow you to share with each other. You may then have other writers that you respect help you out.

There are certain errors that I see consistently crop up...
Homonym: spell checks don't get these and I see them constantly.
Erronious proper names: Check to see that the character name you are referring to is the one you intend.

I think most readers are pretty forgiving as long as an error doesn't throw them out of the story. Left over edit changes are the worst but are fairly easy to pick up proofreading. For example:
He shouted "Watch out!", he exclaimed.

 

[AZMotherLover]

For me personally, a second or third pair of eyes is essential.

 

[slyc_willie]

I am very OCD when I write my stories and manage, most of the time, to catch the simple spelling error or omitted word as I write. I figure I get about fifty percent of the errors as I write.

Like several others who have sounded off on this thread, once I am done (or think I am) with a story, I change both the font and font size and read through it again. I manage to catch about another forty percent of the errors that way. Granted, I haven't always done this, but it has become common practice in the last few years.

Sometimes, my wife (who has a writing degree) will proofread for me, provided the subject matter isn't too gruesome for her. She'll get most of the remaining errors for me.

Yet, even after all this, there will still be errors. I've become philosophical about that simple, basic truth: there will always be an error or two (or three, or fourteen, or twenty-six, depending on length) in your finished product. MacArthy has errors. King has errors. Barker has errors. No matter who you are or how you write/edit/proofread/go-over, you will never catch everything.

The best you can hope for is to give those eagle-eyed critics who so love to point out an error a more difficult time doing so. And when they do, just remind yourself, after you've smacked yourself in the forehead, that you are an imperfect being and therefore, you write imperfect stories. Accept it, and move on to the next imperfect offering.

Trust me; that makes it easier to tell those nit-picking trolls to "fuck off."

 

[rjordan]

No matter who you are or how you write/edit/proofread/go-over, you will never catch everything.

The best you can hope for is to give those eagle-eyed critics who so love to point out an error a more difficult time doing so.

Years ago when I was in auto/motorcycle publishing, I would get irate letters (they were written on paper and delivered by some government agency--I know, hard to believe) describing typos. My reaction was always, "Is that all you found?" I knew for a fact there were many they missed. Shit happens, and it always has. You can narrow it down with ever finer sieves, but you will not find them all. At some point, you have to decide not to obsess over them, and move on.

Back then, we also had two people proofreading as a team. One was called a reader and read out loud, of course. The other followed along on the manuscript or galleys, making corrections. I've forgotten what that person was called. It was common practice in the publishing industry.

They traded roles frequently throughout the shift to minimize fatigue. This technique lasted into in the waning days of hot type (70's). It was laborious, but it was effective. It wouldn't cut it in today's cost-cutting climate.

It's something that might work for Lit authors, though. Have a friend/spouse read it, and follow along with a printed copy, marking areas that need work.

rj

 

[sr71plt]

Yep, I went through that proofreading phase in publishing houses. Still and all, as much as it doesn't catch, computer spellcheck is a big step up in highlighting problems over "the old days."

 

[loquere]

Write short stories at first, to build up your skils.

 

[rjordan]

Yep, I went through that proofreading phase in publishing houses. Still and all, as much as it doesn't catch, computer spellcheck is a big step up in highlighting problems over "the old days."

I agree. I worked with a manual typewriter as a freelancer and later with a Selectric as an employee. Today, if I had to give up my computer, I'd give up writing entirely.

I wasn't advocating a return to those days. I was just suggesting that some writers might find it a useful technique expanding on the advice to print a copy and read it out loud.

rj

 

[slyc_willie]

Spellcheck and grammar check programs do help quite a bit, I admit. I typically don't use either, having turned off just about everything on my copy of Adobe OpenOffice so that I'm not bothered with squiggly lines when I type. I'm sure that shows in some of my stories. But there are times when I turn it all back on and go back through a story. I don't always agree with the suggested corrections given, but it does help to point out some errors I had already missed.

I long ago gave up on trying to write anything "perfect." I can't do it, and I shouldn't expect to be able to do it. And when it's pointed out that I've made an error in my stories, the most I can be bothered to do is shrug my shoulders and move on.

 

[Sammael Bard]

I started a thread like this last year, and frankly it didn't help me much with the writing afterwards. I still made the same mistakes, but at a lower frequency.

Then I had an editor look at my draft. He went through it and pointed on the areas I needed to work on. My grammar improved a lot after that. Another editor, this time on a different work, pointed out most of the other remaining anomalies in my writing style.

Let's just conclude it with the fact that I have improved a lot since I started writing. Having someone pointing out your specific mistakes really worked for me, because next time I'll know where to stop and look.

 

[curl4ever]

I started a thread like this last year, and frankly it didn't help me much with the writing afterwards. I still made the same mistakes, but at a lower frequency.

Then I had an editor look at my draft. He went through it and pointed on the areas I needed to work on. My grammar improved a lot after that. Another editor, this time on a different work, pointed out most of the other remaining anomalies in my writing style.

Let's just conclude it with the fact that I have improved a lot since I started writing. Having someone pointing out your specific mistakes really worked for me, because next time I'll know where to stop and look.

Thanks for posting that link! Lots of interesting suggestions there.

(Enough interest to archive these into the Authors' Hangout Library sticky?)

Thanks again,
- curl

 

[glynndah]

I'm thinking of posting a little note at the top of my next story:

"There are five errors hidden in this story. See if you can find them all."

I will not, of course, deliberately put any typos in the story, but I'm sure someone will find all five and leave me a comment saying they've found five more!

A from the good little witch.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I am very OCD when I write my stories and manage, most of the time, to catch the simple spelling error or omitted word as I write. I figure I get about fifty percent of the errors as I write.

Like several others who have sounded off on this thread, once I am done (or think I am) with a story, I change both the font and font size and read through it again. I manage to catch about another forty percent of the errors that way. Granted, I haven't always done this, but it has become common practice in the last few years.

Sometimes, my wife (who has a writing degree) will proofread for me, provided the subject matter isn't too gruesome for her. She'll get most of the remaining errors for me.

Yet, even after all this, there will still be errors. I've become philosophical about that simple, basic truth: there will always be an error or two (or three, or fourteen, or twenty-six, depending on length) in your finished product. MacArthy has errors. King has errors. Barker has errors. No matter who you are or how you write/edit/proofread/go-over, you will never catch everything.

The best you can hope for is to give those eagle-eyed critics who so love to point out an error a more difficult time doing so. And when they do, just remind yourself, after you've smacked yourself in the forehead, that you are an imperfect being and therefore, you write imperfect stories. Accept it, and move on to the next imperfect offering.

Trust me; that makes it easier to tell those nit-picking trolls to "fuck off."

My favorite errors are those copy-editors add to my wares. They change right to wrong and the world thinks youre the dolt. Composition teachers are almost as dum. But government bureaucrats take the prize.

Believe it or don't Judges and lawyers prefer clear and succinct and laconic writing; it steals scarce time when they try to fathom schizophrenic word salad. But bureaucrats are trained to conceal and expand and obscure. And any legal scribe who dares call merde, shit, is in deep doo doo.