I had some short stories, poems and photographs to share ... and so here I am

Agggghhhhhhhhh !!!!!!!!!!

 
I can probably kiss goodbye any chance I might have had of getting somewhere in the Bridport Prize. (Did I even have a chance, given that thousands and thousands of people enter?)

I feel like chopping off my fingers. Am I the only person who sends off a manuscript - after checking, rechecking and checking again - only to find a typo when it's too late?

I am better at editing this blog.

It is so annoying. An "o" became an "e" and I didn't see it with my tired, computer-weary eyes. I did numerous automatic spell-checks during the editing, but failed to do it after making some last-minute "quick, easy changes".

So, one word in my short story is not an actual word in the English language.

Will a judge let me off for one little typo, or will they toss the story in the bin, no matter how good the rest of it may be?

Agggggghhhhhhhhhh. It is so annoying that a story I was actually quite happy with has been betrayed by one little letter.

My only hope is that the judges also have tired, computer-weary eyes.

12 comments:

Debi said...

Of course it's important to proof read. And it CAN irritate people when they come across repeated errors.

But one iddy biddy typo? Stop torturing yourself!

Pop on over to Minx and join the squatted rave in her comments instead.

I guarantee you won't even remember the competition, let alone the typo, within a very short debauched time.

Liz Dwyer said...

To me it's the content that counts, not one pesky typo, but of course, I'm not one of the judges. Stay positive, you probably have just as much chance as anyone else.

Unknown said...

Waht r u wrried abt thy won't notice it?

Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...

Seamus,
Your talent will always shine through whatever the literary circumstance. :-)

Unknown said...

Just the one? Wouldn't worry too much - it's not worth it.

L.M.Noonan said...

What do I know about these things...but typos can be fixed but bad writing? It'll be alright.

Unknown said...

I'm with Debi and Minx on this - just one typo? To err is human, now let's hope the judges are divine :-) Don't beat yourself up, no matter how much we proofcheck, it's inevitable that we'll miss something - even having an external proofchecker doesn't mean we escape typos - I've seen plenty of published books with tiny glitches in them. Would that we were all perfect, eh? :-)

Anonymous said...

If they notice, that would be a good thing -- that they are actually reading it word for word, drinking it in.

But you must also remember that a reader's eyes often "corrects" a typo like that. No worries. You'll win that damned prize, typo or not.

Anonymous said...

as a teacher, i won't be bothered.
as a reader, i won't be too bothered.
think the judge/s won't be very bothered.

Dewey said...

I think judges would be put off by repeated typos, but just one? No one is expected to be perfect!

Wanderlust Scarlett said...

We are our own worst critics.

Usually.

Wish you the best!



Scarlett & Viaggiatore

rel said...

Seamus,
Or, that you're human. ;-)
rel