Mistakes

seun · Sep 16, 2006

I've been doing a lot of editing lately and have picked up on a number of mistakes that slipped by me the first time.

I have forgotten about a character in the middle of a scene involving several characters.
I've had a character tap someone on the shoulder even though I placed them several feet apart two lines previously.
I've had a character shout during a tense scene in which they needed to be quiet.
And my personal favourite: a character finishes their cigeratte...and then carries on smoking.

Anyone got any other cock ups?

Willowmound · Sep 16, 2006

Yesterday I caught a character of mine hanging out with her dead dad. Not a good look...

Linda Adams · Sep 16, 2006

Referred to a Confederate character as a Federal ...

Nangleator · Sep 16, 2006

I got into this terrible mixup in a science fiction story. See, I had an airlock within an asteroid. The place has been abandoned so long that the atmosphere froze out -- vacuum everywhere.

So, the explorer finds a tunnel leading to the airlock. He heats up the tunnel, which turns the frozen atmosphere inside back into gas. Fine. Then he has to get into the airlock, which is in vacuum. Think that door swung open fast? What if it opened outward?

And thence the inner door of the airlock. The interior is a LOT bigger that the volume of the airlock. Does the inner door swing inwards or outwards? How do you warm up the interior from inside the lock?

Geez.

Saundra Julian · Sep 16, 2006

I once had a store front with plate glasses windows...and a woman who felt a little sheep ...duh!

The very best I've ever heard was when a friend of mine wrote her MC put her lipstick back in her eel skin pus*y! Goodness...

Nangleator · Sep 16, 2006

Must... restrain... self... uh!

seun · Sep 16, 2006

Saundra Julian said:
I once had a store front with plate glasses windows...and a woman who felt a little sheep ...duh!

The very best I've ever heard was when a friend of mine wrote her MC put her lipstick back in her eel skin pus*y! Goodness...

I think your friend wins so far

Perks · Sep 16, 2006

I changed the neighbor's name a third of the way through. Just caught it yesterday. I love the 'find and replace' command.

Tracy · Sep 16, 2006

I had a character called Phil, and my editor wanted me to change it as the MC was called Patrick, and it's best not to have characters starting with the same initital in case it confuses the readers.
Fair enough, the work of a moment, to change his name to Darren via that magic Search & Replace.
Until the editor pointed out, amidst gales of laughter, my passing reference to that well known American city of Darrenadelphia!!!

But there have been plenty of others. Sitting down when the character's already sat down, messing up timelines - you name it. All first draft stuff stuff, hopefully.

jbal · Sep 16, 2006

I just caught one where a character had been knocked down and stood up... and then stood up again a few sentences later (just caught it).
But my favorite was someone stepping on a crayon and grinding it into the carpet...in the kitchen. Must've lost track of that one.

LeeFlower · Sep 16, 2006

I just had a character take a sea voyage and then appear in her city of departure three days later. That was a good one. I had to write her off of the ship, because she definetely needed to be in the city.

Same story, a character worried about the quality of her clothes in chapter one because she can't afford nice ones makes an offhand comment about her family's small fleet of trade ships in chapter twelve... ::headdesk::

Prawn · Sep 16, 2006

This one got thru several drafts:

I kept referring to "Officer Earlierinthebook".

I just got used to it and never went back to check what his name actually was when he had first been introduced in Chapter 1.

PeeDee · Sep 16, 2006

I wrote a wonderful scene in my novel which was the kick-off point for a whole sub-plot, and then.....I forgot to ever come back to it, or even mention it.

*sigh*

I will probably just can that one scene, since obviously the side-plot wasn't riveting or important enough for me to remember.

nevada · Sep 16, 2006

My character went to bed Sunday night and woke up the following morning, Sunday morning. My mom caught that one.

BardSkye · Sep 16, 2006

Perhaps he was on a ship that crossed the international date line?

Unfortunately, I've done most of the above. Well, except for the "eel-lined p**sy."

veinglory · Sep 16, 2006

I actually send a book to my editor hwere I changed the characters name mid sex scene and then back. So all of a sudden there were three of them in bed. That was embarrassing

Carrie in PA · Sep 16, 2006

I've done a bunch of stupid stuff like having my character get up when he/she is already up, or going downstairs when he/she is already there. I pray I'll catch it all in editing!

gp101 · Sep 16, 2006

This usually happens to me in the revision phase when I hack away all the extraneous scenes and forget to make the scenes ahead of it and before it make sense on their own. Of course, I still suffer from the occasional brain fart and make impossible situations for the characters.... which requires even more revision.

britlitfantw · Sep 16, 2006

He tucked her hair behind her hair.

...

Oh yeah, that's productive ... *tut tuts at her character*

seun · Sep 17, 2006

There's some good stuff here. I'm smiling and feeling glad that others mess up as well.

Just to add to my mistakes: a character in a record store asks another character if the delivery has arrived. He is told no. Three lines later, he's opening the boxes that haven't arrived.

maddythemad · Sep 17, 2006

In the very first book I wrote, I had a character break her leg. . . then run away from a couple of badguys, kick a few people's a$$es, and walk through an entire forest. . . only to remember that her leg was broken, and lie down on the ground, wailing in pain.

Dollywagon · Sep 17, 2006

I've wanted to say this for ages (nothing to do with the thread,) I've also got a Maddy the Mad. Except she is a duck. But not actually a duck because she is a drake (but looked like a duck when younger, hence the name,) then again he/she is not really a duck either because he/she is actually a muscovy duck which is genetically out on its own because it's actually more closely related to the goose family.

Anyway, my Maddy the Mad, is so called because he/she actually thinks he/she is a chicken.

It causes problems.

I make mistakes when writing as well. I really can't understand why.

ChaosTitan · Sep 17, 2006

maddythemad said:
In the very first book I wrote, I had a character break her leg. . . then run away from a couple of badguys, kick a few people's a$$es, and walk through an entire forest. . . only to remember that her leg was broken, and lie down on the ground, wailing in pain.

A character did this in a PBEM game I participated in years ago. I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair.

DamaNegra · Sep 17, 2006

Once, my character yelled at her boyfriend and ran out of the room, slamming the equation behind her.

LeeFlower · Sep 17, 2006

I mix languages up sometimes... I had a story once where someone spoke to the MC in Spanish, and she replied (in spansish) "I'm sorry, I don't speak [even half] a word of Spanish. Do you speak English?"

Mistakes

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