Good Morning. I thought the title of this post would get your attention. It's about misspelled words, or homonyms if you will. You see, while I was on vacation, I read like a maniac. New York authors who make the big bucks and have tons of editors. And I found several misspelled words. (Which was kind of fun in a weird OMG kind of way.)
...Jimmy slid the car around the corner, I think we were doing seventy by then, and when he saw the train, slammed on the breaks... (brakes)
...The huge cat beared its teeth, and we all froze... (bared)
I know I should not point out the mistakes in others, but I'm a writer. Hey, it's what I do.
Imagine my horror, when I sent my latest novella to my critique partner and she pointed out these little beauties...
If Edward thought about Arianna in any possible light, Bella was sure to distinguish the flame. (extinguish)
There was no reason for him to be hurt in such a manor. (manner)
Ewww, I said. Just ewww. I should have known better, but I was in writing mode, fast and furious trying to finish the book so I could enjoy my vacation. Yes, I did read it over before I sent it off, but I think because I wrote it, and had read it 20,000 times already, I just didn't see it.
Can we say the same about New York authors? I don't know. Don't they have gatekeepers, people who check and double check? Or does New York not care anymore if the author makes the company a bazillion dollars a year?
Which begs the question -- why should self-published authors care about that kind of thing if New York doesn't?
My answer is -- because we should. Because we have the "stigma" of being self-published and even today with the rise of ebooks in popularity, we should put out the best product we can.
Tell me -- Have you ever cringed when reading one of those? What are some of your best misspelled words?
Happy Labor Day!
Anne Gallagher (c) 2014
PS -- If you'd like to see what I've been working on over vacation you can find it here.
Showing posts with label words. Show all posts
Showing posts with label words. Show all posts
Monday, September 1, 2014
Monday, April 8, 2013
Great Lines
Rick Daley (of My Daley Rant) posted the Letter C last week on his A-Z Challenge and it was about Eric Clapton. (For those of you too young to know who Eric Clapton is, he is one of the best guitarists in the world.)
Anyway, for the rest of that day after I read his post, I couldn't help hear the song Bell Bottom Blues in my head. (One of my most favorite songs. Recorded in 1971 - shows you how old I am.) There is a line in that song --
Do you want to see me crawl across the floor to you
Do you want to hear me beg you to take me back
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Bottom_Blues_(Derek_and_the_Dominos_song)
That everytime I hear it, I think, "That is the best line EVAH!" Sends goosebumps up my spine. Listen to him sing it. Sheer heartbreak. Anguish. All that fun stuff a romance writer loves.
This in turn, brought me to thinking about great lines in books. Every so often, I'll run across one that just blows me away. And they may not seem like anything to you (it's all very subjective) but each of these lines invokes something in me that makes me want to remember it.
There is something about trains, drinking, and being an Indian with nothing to lose.
-- Sherman Alexie
What reason weaves, by passion is undone.
--Alexander Pope
Family ain't what you inherit, girl, it's what you make with those you love who love you back.
--Olivia Goldsmith
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly: what is essential is invisible to the eye.
--Antoine Saint-Exupery
But Cash had been thinking how sad it was there was not even a plant on the windowsill in here. Not one green thing that can sit in the sun and be quiet.
--Barbara Kingsolver
That was enough for the both of us because those kisses came from the same place where pain and hunger live.
-- Robert Olmstead
One cannot live rightly when one lives without love.
-- Anne Gallagher (The Lady's Fate)
As you can see, I posted my own "great line" up there as well, because I feel it deserved a mention. Of everything I've ever written, that's the only line I ever remember faithfully.
How about you? When you pen your stories do you ever sit back and say, "Hoo-doggie, that was a GREAT line!" If so, what is it?
For your listening pleasure Derek and the Dominoes Bell Bottom Blues
Anne Gallagher (c) 2013
Anyway, for the rest of that day after I read his post, I couldn't help hear the song Bell Bottom Blues in my head. (One of my most favorite songs. Recorded in 1971 - shows you how old I am.) There is a line in that song --
Do you want to see me crawl across the floor to you
Do you want to hear me beg you to take me back
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Bottom_Blues_(Derek_and_the_Dominos_song)
That everytime I hear it, I think, "That is the best line EVAH!" Sends goosebumps up my spine. Listen to him sing it. Sheer heartbreak. Anguish. All that fun stuff a romance writer loves.
This in turn, brought me to thinking about great lines in books. Every so often, I'll run across one that just blows me away. And they may not seem like anything to you (it's all very subjective) but each of these lines invokes something in me that makes me want to remember it.
There is something about trains, drinking, and being an Indian with nothing to lose.
-- Sherman Alexie
What reason weaves, by passion is undone.
--Alexander Pope
Family ain't what you inherit, girl, it's what you make with those you love who love you back.
--Olivia Goldsmith
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly: what is essential is invisible to the eye.
--Antoine Saint-Exupery
But Cash had been thinking how sad it was there was not even a plant on the windowsill in here. Not one green thing that can sit in the sun and be quiet.
--Barbara Kingsolver
That was enough for the both of us because those kisses came from the same place where pain and hunger live.
-- Robert Olmstead
One cannot live rightly when one lives without love.
-- Anne Gallagher (The Lady's Fate)
As you can see, I posted my own "great line" up there as well, because I feel it deserved a mention. Of everything I've ever written, that's the only line I ever remember faithfully.
How about you? When you pen your stories do you ever sit back and say, "Hoo-doggie, that was a GREAT line!" If so, what is it?
For your listening pleasure Derek and the Dominoes Bell Bottom Blues
Anne Gallagher (c) 2013
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Big Words
A beta reader once said to me, she didn't like my use of "big words". She felt they detracted from the story because she always had to stop reading and look them up.
I think I began loving the Regency/Historical romance genre because they did, in fact use big words.
implaccable gloaming penury quiescent louring obliquy
I now have a list of 25 cent words, like those above, that I tuck into my stories here and there.
Tell me -- Do you use big words in your stories or do you stick with the regular ones? Do you think writers are "showing off'" by using them? Do you like learning new words as you read? Tell me some of your "big words".
I think I began loving the Regency/Historical romance genre because they did, in fact use big words.
implaccable gloaming penury quiescent louring obliquy
I now have a list of 25 cent words, like those above, that I tuck into my stories here and there.
Tell me -- Do you use big words in your stories or do you stick with the regular ones? Do you think writers are "showing off'" by using them? Do you like learning new words as you read? Tell me some of your "big words".
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