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aelfwine
Joined: 18 Aug 2005
Posts: 14
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 Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2005 12:04 am Post subject: post haste |
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I have been reading and enjoying a number of stories here and noticed that several of those already posted have enough typos and misspellings to make it doubtful they have been beta read yet.
Not that I am a great speller  hukt on foniks etc . 
Is it considered ok to post a few chapters before finding someone to beta ones work 
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Grammar? Is that the lady married to my Granpar?
Spelling? Hukt on foniks werkt fur me.
~aelfwine~ |
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KhazarKhum
Joined: 02 Sep 2003
Posts: 234
Location: Quartz Hill, CA--USA
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| Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2005 7:48 am Post subject: |
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You can either ask for a beta in advance of posting, or you can ask after the fact. I prefer to have mine checked before exposing their shortcomings to the world.  |
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Rhapsody
Joined: 11 Apr 2004
Posts: 1153
Location: Maglor's Lap
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| Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2005 8:24 am Post subject: |
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My stories always are proofread by very very great beta's.. but we're all human you know. Maybe we should have a typo day... that you have to make them on purpose... LOL
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I have not lost my mind - it's backed up on disk somewhere...
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Nazgul #5 in charge anything liquid or edible things
Icon made by Carnage in c minor. |
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NancyBrooke
Challenge Admin
Joined: 11 May 2003
Posts: 160
Location: In a motel 6 by the airport
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| Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2005 9:05 am Post subject: |
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The guidelines insist stories be spell checked, and strongly encourage that writers enlist the help of betas, too.
As a writer, I always appreciate knowing when I and my betas have missed a typo (not that that ever happens  ), so if you find any you might consider letting the author know by pm.
If a story is rife with errors, I think you should politely send a note to the admins via the help mailbox.
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NB Duchess of WHY TF Cant'chu Punctuate, First Duchess of F*&(ing &*ll yur comma placement sux!
Nazgul #3 in charge of ducking & sniggering
Garo golf a conu ned i eneth aran an ir ho delitha ad |
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Shanalir
Joined: 27 Feb 2005
Posts: 1
Location: Umm, anyone seen my map?
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| Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 11:17 am Post subject: |
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One problem that I see a lot more than spelling errors is a correctly spelled word being used in the wrong context. A grammar check is very helpful for that. A lot of times I'll see a mistake in a fic such as ware vs. wear. Two words pronounced the same way. Two legitimate spellings that most spellchecks will find no problem with. Two very different meanings. (Eowyn wouldn't ware a scarf on a chilly day. Likewise, the Nine Walkers wouldn't wear the balrog.) That kind of mistake is similar to a spelling error, but isn't quite the same thing. (Sorry if I'm being too obvious here. My mind is woking a little sluggish today.)
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Permanently gone from the fandom.
Thanks to everyone for all the fun! |
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Leaward
Joined: 11 Dec 2004
Posts: 25
Location: a tiny padded room in Arnor
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| Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 12:43 pm Post subject: |
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More on Shanalir's post ... slight-of-hand instead of sleight-of-hand, 'could of' instead of 'could have'
Yeah, those things bug me. They're minor but they aren't caught by spell checkers in a lot of cases. That's where having a beta can help. |
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Rhapsody
Joined: 11 Apr 2004
Posts: 1153
Location: Maglor's Lap
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| Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 2:10 pm Post subject: |
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or my slip up... then and than 
Long live my beta's!
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I have not lost my mind - it's backed up on disk somewhere...
Maglor's bard & Celegorm's play pal
Nazgul #5 in charge anything liquid or edible things
Icon made by Carnage in c minor. |
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ghettoelleth
Joined: 06 Nov 2004
Posts: 1804
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| Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 2:27 pm Post subject: |
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Ghetto has know idea what the hell you guys are talking about, really, I simply don't no.
I believe Al once counted four hundred and seveny of those in one chapter. It certainly isn't because I don't no which is appropriate, as Eminem says, I'm just an "ass like that." That was the right context, wasn't it?  
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"The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can not confirm their validity." Abraham Lincoln |
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Alassante
Virtual Village Mod
Joined: 10 Dec 2004
Posts: 20
Location: Hitchhiking to Rivendell
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| Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 4:03 pm Post subject: |
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| ghettoelleth wrote: | Ghetto has know idea what the hell you guys are talking about, really, I simply don't no.
I believe Al once counted four hundred and seveny of those in one chapter. It certainly isn't because I don't no which is appropriate, as Eminem says, I'm just an "ass like that." That was the right context, wasn't it? |
You kill me - a post about spelling and you spelled seventy wrong. LMAO
Thats okay - you have fussed about me the same number of times for he/she where I didn't identify who he or she was. Damn, weren't you paying attention - HIM not the other HIM. Just because there are 10 males present there is no reason you couldn't figure out which he I meant. Geez!  You should 'no' by now shouldn't you?
One thing I must say though is make sure your beta knows if you are ESL or using UK spellings vs. US spellings. Poor Binka had a time when I corrected all of her UK spellings to US ones. Who knew they didn't spell it the same way??  I sure didn't!
As for posting pre-beta and going back and fixing it later vs. waiting and getting a beta - personally I would wait. Some people will see the mistakes very easily and if there are too many of them, they get fed up and stop reading. And if you are on chapter 3 and fix chapter 1, most will not go back and re-read chapter 1 just to see what you fixed. If however you realize after you posted you have made mistakes - even the bestest betas miss things - you can go fix it in case someone else starts reading from the beginning.
But as Ellisk says, thats my two cents.
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Crucio! Because stupidity should be painful!
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NancyBrooke
Challenge Admin
Joined: 11 May 2003
Posts: 160
Location: In a motel 6 by the airport
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| Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 4:16 pm Post subject: |
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We all realize, right, that Aelfwine posted a few days ago?
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NB Duchess of WHY TF Cant'chu Punctuate, First Duchess of F*&(ing &*ll yur comma placement sux!
Nazgul #3 in charge of ducking & sniggering
Garo golf a conu ned i eneth aran an ir ho delitha ad |
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SpaceWeavil
Joined: 27 May 2004
Posts: 23
Location: Looking at shiny things
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| Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 4:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Alassante wrote: | | ghettoelleth wrote: | Ghetto has know idea what the hell you guys are talking about, really, I simply don't no.
I believe Al once counted four hundred and seveny of those in one chapter. It certainly isn't because I don't no which is appropriate, as Eminem says, I'm just an "ass like that." That was the right context, wasn't it? |
You kill me - a post about spelling and you spelled seventy wrong. LMAO
Thats okay - you have fussed about me the same number of times for he/she where I didn't identify who he or she was. Damn, weren't you paying attention - HIM not the other HIM. Just because there are 10 males present there is no reason you couldn't figure out which he I meant. Geez! You should 'no' by now shouldn't you?
One thing I must say though is make sure your beta knows if you are ESL or using UK spellings vs. US spellings. Poor Binka had a time when I corrected all of her UK spellings to US ones. Who knew they didn't spell it the same way?? I sure didn't!
As for posting pre-beta and going back and fixing it later vs. waiting and getting a beta - personally I would wait. Some people will see the mistakes very easily and if there are too many of them, they get fed up and stop reading. And if you are on chapter 3 and fix chapter 1, most will not go back and re-read chapter 1 just to see what you fixed. If however you realize after you posted you have made mistakes - even the bestest betas miss things - you can go fix it in case someone else starts reading from the beginning.
But as Ellisk says, thats my two cents. |
My worst one I spotted whilst beta-ing my own stuff was writing 'no' instead of 'know'. I tend to think of those as a slip of the brain - sometimes when I'm writing it's like I'm audio-typing what my brain is telling me and sometimes I flip out.
I do post mine having only beta'd myself, but in general I think I do a fairly good job of it. I've made the occasional mistake, but I think one out of several stories is not a bad average. Considering I've seen supposedly 'beta'd' fics with worse spelling, and have even seen published works with worse spelling, I think I do okay.
My absolute favourite on that subject are the Law Basics series from W Green & Sons, little guides to areas of Scots Law, or 'Sots Law' as one edition has. I mean, when I law textbook misspells the word 'trial'...
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Pervy Nazgul Fancier and owner of Fluffy the Fell Beast |
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ellisk
Joined: 23 Jan 2004
Posts: 579
Location: Icon by Alassante! Wow!
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| Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2005 3:05 am Post subject: |
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| SpaceWeavil wrote: | | My absolute favourite on that subject are the Law Basics series from W Green & Sons, little guides to areas of Scots Law, or 'Sots Law' as one edition has. I mean, when a law textbook misspells the word 'trial'... |
Oh God! That is hilarious. I think I would not have much faith in that text!
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It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
Ultima ratio regum (The Last Argument of Kings)--engraved on all French cannons by order of Louis XIV |
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KhazarKhum
Joined: 02 Sep 2003
Posts: 234
Location: Quartz Hill, CA--USA
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| Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2005 4:20 am Post subject: |
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SpaceWeavil wrote:
My absolute favourite on that subject are the Law Basics series from W Green & Sons, little guides to areas of Scots Law, or 'Sots Law' as one edition has. I mean, when a law textbook misspells the word 'trial'... |
Oh, I dunno...there's something to be said for a "legal trail".  |
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Rhapsody
Joined: 11 Apr 2004
Posts: 1153
Location: Maglor's Lap
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| Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2005 8:46 am Post subject: |
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| Alassante wrote: |
One thing I must say though is make sure your beta knows if you are ESL or using UK spellings vs. US spellings. Poor Binka had a time when I corrected all of her UK spellings to US ones. Who knew they didn't spell it the same way?? I sure didn't! |
As an ESL writer: I completely second this. I do write according to UK style and well... I have let go of some things (quotations, because that is a bane to explain), but at least it is consistent.
_________________
I have not lost my mind - it's backed up on disk somewhere...
Maglor's bard & Celegorm's play pal
Nazgul #5 in charge anything liquid or edible things
Icon made by Carnage in c minor. |
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aelfwine
Joined: 18 Aug 2005
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2005 11:05 am Post subject: |
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Alassante wrote: | Quote: | One thing I must say though is make sure your beta knows if you are ESL or using UK spellings vs. US spellings. Poor Binka had a time when I corrected all of her UK spellings to US ones. Who knew they didn't spell it the same way?? I sure didn't!
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ESL well I was raised in granola bar land , home of the fruits nuts and flakes (aka california) which means I speak American with a valley accent? although I am trying hard to overcome this stumbling block. I suppose that does mean english is somewhat a second language to me (Only a few English professors and some inmates in lala land actualy speak The King's English in America)
My true second language is spanish (although I usualy don't slaughter it as badly as my first language)
Once while learning spanish I tried to tell a freind I was embarressed . I made the typical mistake and added an o to the end of the word telling them I was embaresado , which means pregnant. I have yet to live that one down and it's been twenty years. (Hmmm ,may use that in my story)
Yes I have posted a few chapters . If any of you know a willing beta (shameless beta fishing) drop me a note or have them drop me a note. Please!?
Thank-you for all help and suggestions . I am completely new at this and appreciate any guidance I can get.
While I see that NancyBrook did notice I had posted and my story has received some hits it is curiously lacking in any feedback.
I am not an egotist  (sure you aren't!) truely (yeah right) but I would like some feedback . Even if all you write is : "your work is replete with stinkiosity go back to your Grampar and find Grammar " or " I find this part of your story : boring , hard to read, (exciting ? hope, hope) . This will help me to know if I should continue posting on this line or return to the drawing board ( pc in this case) Thus endeth the epistle by Aelfwine the verbose.
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Grammar? Is that the lady married to my Granpar?
Spelling? Hukt on foniks werkt fur me.
~aelfwine~ |
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