Can your heart look up? πβ¬οΈ β«οΈLooking up, his heart sank. I know what the author means. They mean that whatever the character has seen has made their heart sink. π£ But the way it’s written causes something called a ‘dangling modifier’. The subject of the sentence is ‘heart’ and the heart is said toContinue reading “‘Looking up, his heart sank.’ Did it? How bothered are you about dangling modifiers?”
Tag Archives: topproofreadingspots
Is it dispatch box or despatch box? Should Parliament be capitalised? Back-bencher or backbencher? Proofreading dystopian political fiction.
π Today’s proofread has a political theme. Dystopian fiction, written in 2017, but weirdly prescient. It’s not a futuristic setting, rather a twisted version of our own, and so the words need to be styled in a recognised way. Part of this involves carefully checking spelling, hyphenation and capitalisation. Dispatch box β has become despatchContinue reading “Is it dispatch box or despatch box? Should Parliament be capitalised? Back-bencher or backbencher? Proofreading dystopian political fiction.”
January 12th 2021. Post-apoc novel: top proofreading spots.
π Grill vs grille. Puss vs pus. Feint vs faint. Had some cracking #proofreading spots this week in the post-apocalyptic novel I’m editing. Word did not flag these. But they did not get past me! I find these spots to be the most satisfying of all. βthe car’s grill β‘ the car’s grille β π©βπ³Continue reading “January 12th 2021. Post-apoc novel: top proofreading spots.”
December 15th 2020. Fantasy novel: top proofreading spots.
It’s only 10.45 and I’ve already saved The World. That’s the name of the novella I’ve proofread this morning. π Here are my top #proofreading spots from the manuscript. 1οΈβ£ The wyvern’s took to the air. β β‘ wyverns β 2οΈβ£ “I feel like a raised you.” β β‘ I raised β 3οΈβ£ She didContinue reading “December 15th 2020. Fantasy novel: top proofreading spots.”
Is it loose or lose? And other top proofreading spots.
π Today’s top #proofreading spots from an adventure Bildungsroman. Including loose vs lose, amongst others… β All hell broke lose β‘ loose β β a eighth β‘ an eighth β β hypthesis β‘ hypothesis β π A lot of people make the lose/loose error, but it’s usually the other way round. I think it’s becauseContinue reading “Is it loose or lose? And other top proofreading spots.”
Best proofreading or editing spots? When the name of something has changed. Consistency is the key.
π Want to know my all-time favourite type of proofreading spot? When I catch that the name of something has changed. π¦ Like the same ice cream parlour with two different names in two different chapters. π Or the same street with two different names in two different chapters. π I catch these inconsistencies byContinue reading “Best proofreading or editing spots? When the name of something has changed. Consistency is the key.”
October 20th 2020. Top proofreading spots.
π Top #proofreading spots from a manuscript I’ve been working on today. β She thrusted the blade πͺ β‘ thrust β β We were on route π β‘ en route β β The community were celebrating π β‘ was celebrating β So, we have an irregular past tense verb, a French borrowing and an agreementContinue reading “October 20th 2020. Top proofreading spots.”
October 7th 2020. Top proofreading spots.
π Top #proofreading spots today. β I had ran πββοΈ β‘ I had run β β glistening from copious amount of oil π§ β‘ a copious amount / copious amounts β So, we have a past participle issue and an agreement issue. Glad to be of assitance cleaning up the manuscript before it’s published.
Is it loath or loathe? Top proofreading spot.
π Top #proofreading spot from today. Loathe vs Loath. You loathe something if you hate it. π€’ For example, I loathe scampi. It’s the texture. Yuck. And in this example, loathe is a verb. Notice the ‘e’ on the end of the word. π¦ Whereas, I am loath to eat prawns. For the same reason.Continue reading “Is it loath or loathe? Top proofreading spot.”
Top proofreading spots: vocabulary. Stalagmites or stalactites? Servility or civility?
π ‘Stalagmites hung from the ceiling, shimmering with alchemical light.’ β One of my favourite types of #proofreading spot is when I’ve caught a wrong word choice. ‘Stalactites hung from the ceiling, shimmering with alchemical light.’ β Tites hang down! NOTE also the change from a G to a C: stalaCtites. Another one I flaggedContinue reading “Top proofreading spots: vocabulary. Stalagmites or stalactites? Servility or civility?”