Forum: Lost Stories

Not a bad read at all!

But not a really good read either. I'm now with chapter 8 and the obvious errors really get to me:
'pin' instead of 'pen' (not a typo, he obviously thinks it's spelled 'pin')

Noun
pen (plural pens)

An enclosure (enclosed area) used to contain domesticated animals, especially sheep or cattle.

Pronunciation
IPA(key): /pɛn/
(pin–pen merger) IPA(key): /pɪn/

Because of the pin-pen merger in pronunciation it may be ok to spell it 'pin' in dialogue but not in narration!

Another error is 'since' instead of 'sense': 'a since of dread hit me'. Whenever he means 'sense' he writes 'since'.

Then the changes in POV. While written mostly in first person narration, he changes (unnecessarily) to third person for some paragraphs, then back to first person.

Last but not least the use of apostrophes in dialogue:
"[...] I ain't buy'in."
"[...] but it seems that they're gett'in water from their windmill wells."
"[...] when you're shav'in every day,"
It should be buyin', gettin', shavin', shouldn't it?

HM.

Be careful reading werewolf stories on Wattpad the misspellings were to consistent to be anything other than bad editing "rouge wolves" "torcher" "wince winch wench wrench". Avoid Vanessa Ravencroft. She was a wonderful storyteller, but a bad author. I have also read commercial authors (E. E. Smith) that had a problem with "dilometers" in one of his books.

limab

Psst - KaHmnd has problems with "pin knives" profit/prophet in some of his works too.

Oops! Sorry Vanessa, I corrected your name.

"pin knives"

Wasn't there an animated movie with an anthropomorphic mouse that had a "sword" made from a sowing needle? That would kind of be a pin knife. :)

Another kind of pin knife, a knife made from canister Damascus using sowing needles.

Sowing needles is a waste of time.
They'll never sprout.
Try seeds next time.

I just assumed he was pointing out the difference between "sewing" and "sowing".

made from canister Damascus

In the linked page it says:

A composite steel made by placing solid and powered steels in a metal can, and fusing it together by forge welding using heat and pressure.

How do they put the power into the steel?

HM.

How do they put the power into the steel?

A typo apparently. The process uses smallish pieces of solid steel and powdered steel.

https://knifemaking.com/products/1095-powder-steel?variant=31225150636168&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=EAIaIQobChMImbGK-Jed-wIVievjBx0x5gQWEAQYASABEgI32vD_BwE

How do they put the power into the steel?

You need an Enchanter-Blacksmith for that.

To be fair, typing with claws is difficult, so I'd give werewolf authors a get out of jail card for minor mistakes.

I have also read commercial authors (E. E. Smith) that had a problem with "dilometers" in one of his books.

Given that Smith had two degrees in chemical engineering and a penchant for word play, it's entirely possible there was some subtle joke going on here. Without knowing the context it's hard to say.

Similarly, one of Terry Pratchett's books had a "typo" that was actually a pun, but it was lost in the American translation because the key word is spelled differently in American vs British English.

Whenever I see someone using the wrong spelling of words that sound the same, I just figure they are using a speech to text program and just too lazy to check.

It's just as easy to type the wrong word. Your assumption that such errors are the result of speech to text programs is without basis.

It's just as easy to type the wrong word. Your assumption that such errors are the result of speech to text programs is without basis.

When it is done over and over again my assumption does have a basis. And even if they don't use it, it is just as easy to catch the mistake with proofreading.

I think most of these errors are the result of not knowing the difference in spelling of the homophone.
We can't get all the "Champaign" for "Champagne" or "council" for "counsel" mistakes unless the spelling is intentional.

The most common of all seems to be substituting defiantly in place of the more commonly-used word definitely.

It's everywhere on the internet, including here.

So common, in fact, that I suspect an error in programming by whoever wrote the spell checker that most people use. It's certainly not a mistake you hear people make when speaking.

But then what about the editor or spellchecker missing the same words?

If it's an actual word, spelled correctly but used incorrectly, a spellchecker would be useless. Can't speak for any editor, but they miss things as well.

Sadly, I think that a lot of the time the writer doesn't know the difference.

Sadly, I think that a lot of the time the writer doesn't know the difference.

There are a number of cases, where I know the difference, I know the proper usage of each, but can't seem to stop myself from typing the wrong one (I do not use speech to text software currently).

There are a couple of other cases where I have a similar issue that aren't even homonyms. I am constantly typing "and" where I wanted "an".

I know the difference, I know which is correct for the situation, and I still can't seem to stop myself from constantly typing the wrong one.

It's the same issue with the sow/sew up thread. I didn't even know that I'd typed the wrong one until someone else make a joke over it. It's not like I put a lot of time into proofreading forum comments.

There are a number of cases, where I know the difference, I know the proper usage of each, but can't seem to stop myself from typing the wrong one (I do not use speech to text software currently).

I find this happens even more when I'm writing fiction. My brain is juggling so much -- evaluating what I just wrote, thinking where I need to go next, even generating ideas for other parts of the story, that my fingers occasionally seem to pluck from some of those thoughts rather than the main stream that was focused on the story at that moment.

a spellchecker would be useless.

Sorry, I should have used proofreader instead of spellchecker. The problem I have with spellchecker is you have to be close to the right spelling for it to work.

I edit for a couple of authors on here, and always make at leat two passes through whatever I am working on. Sometimes I will make three passes. I am constantly amazed ay the thing I miss in prior passes.