Monthly Archives: May 2015

Why Writers are Neurotic Poster Children: Neurosis 76

Neurosis, Writing, ,

Neurosis 76: Perfect Errors

Writers spend so much time perfecting things that we eventually become immune to our errors. Today’s case in point – three minutes after sending out my first rough draft to my first beta reader, I noticed three separate errors. Three in three; not liking the ratio here.

Yeah. I had it down too. It took me two days to get the formatting correct going from a Word .DOCX document to a Kindle-formatted .MOBI document, but I had it down. Perfect. Every chapter read by my alpha reader and gone over by me more than once. No worries. Sent off. Jubilation supreme. Glow basking. All that jazz. Perfect, I say again, perfect.

Then I found the first error – the formatted crosses I spent part of the two days fixing didn’t work after the first instance. Then I noticed a chapter heading didn’t populate correctly, so it wasn’t in the TOC. Then I noticed a tiny issue that two people had the same name…and confusing the two would make for major issues towards the end of the book. Yeah, no worries.

Now as I read further on my own kindle, errors pop out everywhere. I can imagine the sentences talking to each other inside my computer as they plan their hiding spaces.

“Okay sentence explaining exorcism, you’re going to hide a small ‘not’ there in the middle of you so that everything Colin just wrote is invalidated. You, you over there holding the important information on Patti’s backstory, drop that comma so you’ll look like you’re saying the opposite of what he wrote. Ah, good work boys, let’s see him get taken seriously after this.”

And that’s just after three minutes of reading on my own.  God only knows what my readers will find.

The only thing perfect in my writing is the errors.

Achievement unlocked: Neurosis 76 exhibited. Writer’s badge updated.

1st 1st Sent

Writing,

First copy of the rough draft sent out just an hour ago. Will process feedback and incorporate it before sending out 2nd batch of first draft.

Ah, hello waiting, my old nemesis. Good seeing you again…as it were.

Blogging the First

Writing, ,

If the old saying about never having a second chance at a first impression is true, then I’m long, long, long past saving. I prefer instead to focus on my own saying: There may be a first time for everything, but it’s what you do afterward that counts. This blog is, to me, a significant part of that ‘afterward’. 

My desire for this blog is to discuss my writing in every aspect, from concept to publication, word choices, editing, concerns, etc.  For now, the need to conquer the fear of blank spaces is more important than the need to be funny or profound or witty. Just get it on paper, dummy; there’s always room for editing later.

Finally, I would be seriously remiss if I didn’t take a moment to wish my wonderful wife a Happy Anniversary. Fourteen years and she hasn’t gotten tied of me yet. Thank God. Love you Kimberly!