Monday, April 4, 2011

Boy, did you write the wrong thing.

You ran you're spell checker for misspelled words and now you think your ready, but is that correct?

Are you there yet? Because they're watching you with their critiquing eyes, and will judge you accordingly.

Whether you want to or not, you have to edit some more, the weather may be bad.

This kind of editing is a pain yes, but don't let your words fly out of your window pane.
                                                                                                               
Too many words sound alike but have two different meanings, and you have to be sure you're using the right words when you write.

Or the reader will not know if your character went here or went to hear. And that can change the whole meaning putting you in a hole.

I'm sure you couldn't bear the thought of being misunderstood, feeling bare.

It's quite simple really, once you know its meaning. But if you rush it, a typo can truly cost you.

Knowing where to look may be more difficult than knowing what to wear. However, you must do this type of editing.

Your readers want to know if your character just went through something, or just threw something.

Did they lose something or felt loose? Happy fingers sometimes type additional letters you don't want and change what you're saying without you realizing it.

If you're feeling weak at the knees right now, it's going to be a long week. Still, you have to get through this.

I don't know if you knew or if you're new at this, but anyone can make an error like this. Maybe you just missed a key?

When you write your scenes you're looking for a specific effect but it will affect the reader who is unsure of what you meant.

Is your character looking at sea or is he looking to see? Your writing must convey a clear picture for your readers.

Is your character trying to be discrete or is he in a discreet location. I don't know. They are not the same.

You can fix a lot of the errors but you can't have alot.

It's never all right to use alright.

Now then, just lie back… or is it lay back?
In any case, never put out bad writing. Go over your manuscript as many times as you have to but make sure it's right. Have others go over it and see if they find anything. It's never easy to write but it is rewarding.

6 comments:

  1. LOL, you mixed up your first sentence...unless that was intentional. And according to my journalism major friend both "all right" and "alright" are correct you just have to be consistent with the one you choose.

    Great post though!

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  2. @Sherri,
    It was intentional. That's why I posted the question "is that correct?" but good of you to notice. I'm also glad you saw the humor in it.

    As far as "alright vs. all right": The form alright as a one-word spelling of the phrase all right in all of its senses probably arose by analogy with such words as already, and altogether. Although alright is a common spelling in written dialogue and in other types of informal writing, all right is used in more formal, edited writing. Nonetheless, as you stated, if you use alright in your writing then be consistent in its use rather than using both.

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  3. Very clever! And so true. Spellchecker can only do so much...

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  4. Entertaining post. It's funny how many words in the English language are so similar yet can totally change your meaning. I feel for ESL learners.

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  5. Yes Spell Checker isn't very smart
    Some times it has the IQ of a fart
    But I really got a kick out of this for sure
    As I know I do it over at my blog shore
    Here and there
    But it's hidden with my rhyming flare
    Although when one writes articles and books and such
    There is never such a thing is checking too much

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  6. Now I know what you meant when you left your comment on my blog! I've complained about these mishaps often.

    My own favorite -- or should that be "favorites?" -- as of late has been how people carelessly swap "waist" and "waste."

    Thanks for visiting the Fox's lair.

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