Now that the holidays are over, it's time to start looking forward in to the new year. Tiptoeing. Quietly. Not touching aaaanything.
I haven't had much luck with my One Word Resolutions the past few years due to the world falling apart and various other things out of my control, but hey, why not play along like this year might be different? I'm going to play it safe with RECOVER.
One of those is a cross stitch that I started at least fifteen years ago and has sat untouched on the stand, 2/3 done, staring at me longingly, for the past seven years. Current goal: finishing this thing! It matches a plate that my grandmother gave me. I'd like to get them framed together. Eventually.
Those events I'm hoping to recover? Here's my spring line up:
And that brings us to this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question:
What's the one thing about your writing career you regret the most? Were you able to
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If you're not familiar with |
overcome it?
Biggest regret: not having more proofreading early on in my writing career. It seems there are always typos, however, the goal is to have as few as possible or if the angels are smiling upon you, none at all. I've found typos in short stories I've had in various magazines and anthologies. Even in my books that were published by a publisher. So it's no surprise that self-published books often have typos too.
I've learned not to expect anyone else to find them all during the editing/proofing journey. Everything I submit anywhere now goes through a process to eliminate as many of those pesky buggers as possible. This way, editors and proofreaders can hopefully catch the few that are missed rather than being overwhelmed by the brunt of the typo load.
The super secret process? Read the story on screen. Find typos. Print the story, read the pages. Find typos. Have the computer read it too me. Find typos. Read the whole darn thing again. Find significantly less typos. Then it goes to other eyeballs. And still, when it comes back for the final proof before printing, I'll read it again, and find a few more to fix. Every. Darn. Time.
We're all human. Typos and all.
Hope you recover from your cold and get to go to all the events you want to go to. I didn't realize we have so many in Michigan. Yes, it's hard to catch all those typos.
ReplyDeleteIt never fails does it? There's always a typo hiding somewhere. My Achilles heel is homophones. 'Loan rider', etc:)
ReplyDeleteHope you kick that cold soon and have a happy-writing new year;)
Hope you feel better soon. You have some great events in the works. Hope they go well for you. Typos are a pain. I've done many of the things you suggested and still have typos. I've never tried having the computer read it. Good idea.
ReplyDelete"Recover" sounds like a good plan for 2022, as is picking up a non-writing project. I hope you manage to finish the cross stitch. That will bring a sense of achievement after all these years. Over Christmas I picked up my paintbrushes again for the first time in ages to paint something that is not a book cover. It provides a great counterbalance to exercise a different part of my mind.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great word for the year. Positive and accessible. Printing up the pieces helps me find more mistakes for sure, so it's always part of the process.
ReplyDeleteThe Warrior Muse
Hi Jean - love the cross-stich project ... it looks beautiful. Good luck with writing - and all associated troubles with dots and dashes!- just enjoy and all the best for a better 2022 - Hilary
ReplyDelete