Fun facts: after numerous
revisions and readings, both silently and aloud, mistakes are still being found.
Some are small: like her instead of here. Some are huge.
Here are two beauties:
The first was pointed out by
my husband and best reader—Copula
instead of cupola. The first word refers
to a connecting word, a particular form of the verb be. Add a couple of more letters and the meaning can enlarge into a
whole of world of risqué. The second is an architectural feature. All kidding
aside, it was a good mistake to find, since I was trying to describe a
venerable old structure in an historic village with more than its share of
prudes.
The odd thing, I swear I
looked this up in the OED and online and I still got it wrong. I transposed the
vowels while typing. Usually, I mess up the letters on the first word of a
sentence. I used to catch myself shifting pronouns as well as letters. In
general, it makes reading a little more difficult. I have to spend extra time
going back over things to figure out what I’ve missed. What can I say; it is a
unique talent to have and to live with.
The second was found by me
after I submitted many, many query letters—Continuance instead of countenance.
The first word as a legal term refers to postponement or adjournment. The
second word, the one I really wanted, refers to a face or facial expression. Not
as embarrassing, but still important for describing a portrait and major
element of my novel.
Spell check was no help in
these cases. Another pair of eyes attached to another brain might be useful, but
that can’t always be depended upon either.
I listened to the Feb 6th
edition of The Writer’s Almanac and when
I later looked it up online I found this quote:
“Every worthwhile book
contains many faults, and every worthwhile writer commits them.” –Eric Partridge
I think I’ll try to keep that
in mind as I just keep slogging away.
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