Monday, June 18, 2012

Why I Proofread My Manuscripts So Many Times (#3)

Sometimes stuff just creeps in without my noticing.
In Confessions of an Average Half-Vampire, 99% of the times we see the character Patrick, he's in Scotland.  And he's wearing a jacket.  He's always wearing a jacket.  Because in Scotland, it's normal to be wearing a jacket for any time during the year.  Even on very warm summer days (which, in Scotland, means anything over 70 F.), one always carries a jacket because one knows the heat is not going to last.
So, I've done edit after edit after edit on All in the Half-Vampire Family, and I just NOW noticed that in a tense scene wherein Patrick, whom Eric admires greatly, is fighting off a horrid attack of bloodlust -- he's wearing a jacket.
Fine, so I always picture Patrick wearing a jacket.  But in this scene, it's July.  In Utah.  In the middle of a heatwave that's torture for Eric.  Granted, it's nighttime in the scene, but that means it's likely still close to 80 degrees F.
And he's wearing a jacket.

Not anymore, he's not.
This is why editing is so necessary.

7 comments:

  1. Good catch! Those little details are important!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ahh totally. I've been proof reading for sooo long now, and I am still catching things!

    ReplyDelete
  3. And that's the one thing people will remember. Well done for catching it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. If you have an Apple computer, you can select text and the computer will read it back to you in a voice of your choosing.
    I have an Australian woman who reads back to me. Awkward wording seems to jump out at me.
    On a Mac go to your text, his Command A to select the text, then hit Option ESC and it will start reading away.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Life,
      Thanks for sharing something that's helpful to you, but I can't think of anything that would annoy me more than listening to a computerized voice attempt to read back what I've written. Ugh.
      However, if it works for you, then I'm glad you have that tool to use. We all work differently.

      Delete
  5. Now all I can see is Patrick's jacket. It's one of those hideous checked lumber jackets with the woolly collar I wore as a kid.

    ReplyDelete