Proof on screen? Proof on paper?

I used to print my work out to proof it but I make so many changes over time I was wasting too many forests. So I forced myself to proof on screen. It saves money, too.

I do the first 100 proofs on the computer. It's only when I do the "last" draft that I print it out and go over it with a fine tooth comb.

I always edit on paper. My eyes get less tired and I catch more mistakes. Plus I can doodle all over... Yeah, it wastes a lot of paper (I have stacks and stacks in the corner of my room) but I figure it's worth it, since paper and pen and editing all go together nicely in my mind.

I proof on the computer and then in the final draft I go to paper. That way I can write myself notes like Madison says. Even if the note is, STOP WRITING PASSIVE SENTENCES!

Yeah I obsess about them.

Saint Fool said:

Well, there was supposed to be a poll - but it vanished.

At any rate, do you proof on screen or do your proof from print?

I'm curious because my niece (21) and my nephew (24) rarely print out anything to proof, while I find that I catch more typos and see the flow of the words more clearly on paper.

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I try to proof things from print. Whether or not I catch more typos is not really the issue with me. If I'm using a computer, I'm terrible trying to go back-and-forth between two documents on the same single monitor I use. OTOH, if I have a document printed up and physically sitting next to me, I can glance back-and-forth between printed document and new document and get more done more effectively.

Also, when I read my work, I much prefer to do so in the comfort of my love seat. Sitting in this nice office chair just is not as comfortable and therefore, is not as conducive to reading a manuscript, as sitting on my couch.

Further, when I'm using my typewriter, I really have no way of looking up an on-screen manuscript and proofing from that. Thus for me, having a physical printed manuscript next to me is the most effective way of proofing or editing my work.

I tried to proof my work on paper, but I had so many changes that I realized it was easier to just do it on screen as I went. Why add that extra step? Perhaps when I get to the final draft, I'll print it just to catch the little stuff.

In a pinch, I'll do it on-screen. But I prefer on paper. I catch more on paper.

Cassiopeia said:

STOP WRITING PASSIVE SENTENCES!

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That's a passive sentence. Hahahaha you knew i'd do that.

I do both. I find I see things differently when it's printed out. So I catch different things, see different problems. Yes it wastes some paper but if i recycle i wont feel as guilty. lol

My first round of revisions are always on paper. I can get a better sense of the flow of words, it's easier to flip back pages to double check info than it is to scroll, and I love my purple pens. Switching around placement of paragraphs is easier for me.

For minor edits or making beta-suggested changes, I usually work from the screen.

More and more I just edit on screen. It's easier to make changes. The trick is forcing myself to actually READ the text. Time helps with that and reading it outloud. (Hubby's used to living with a nutcase writer, so he's used to hearing me talk to myself.)

If I need to compare drafts, I've started using my laptop in conjunction with my desktop. Ooooo.... I'm so spoiled. I print so few things off now. I just put the former-print off on the laptop and work off it that way. =D

I used to proof on paper, but it costs too much and is too wasteful for me to print it all out (I write a LOT of LONG stories). So now I proof on the screen, however tedious and eyestraining and inconvenient it may be.

For magazine articles, I can proof 'em on the screen.

For my book, I did most of the proofing on screen but had to do the final run-through on a good, old-fashioned printout. It was just easier to see it as a "whole," if that makes any sense.

For catching typos of the sort the spell checker doesn't catch, you just need to proof read multiple times.

For making improvements, I find that the absolute best thing is to actually retype each section.

My current novel was printed out only once to proof. The other 14 times were done onscreen. Seems like a lot of paper and ink.

As Sean said, the back-and-forthing is awkward.

I have Office 2007, which allows you to split the screen and edit different parts of the same document, or two different documents at once, but I think I prefer editing on paper.

I always feel bad for printing out reams and reams at a time, though. Such a waste.

I usually print out in a smaller font and single spaced, edit with my big red pen and type those corrections back into the computer, starting again from the beginning.

But I've got so much going on right now I'm planning on training myself to edit on paper and typing those corrections into a previous document, then reading through from the beginning, on screen, to double check the final draft.

We'll see if it works. I tend to agree with those who catch more errors on paper than on the screen. Plus, as Sean will know, staring at a computer for hours on end doesn't do you any good if you're a migraine sufferer.

I proof on screen as much as possible but always do a couple of print proofings near the end, because I always catch more stuff that way.

I use both - but I also have a dual monitor setup so I can full-screen two different versions of the document. (I often open them in different word-processors for the visual cues as to which is which too.)

Once the chapter is printed, I print it out and put it in a binder. Once it's printed, I'm not allowed to go back and change anything. The most I can do is jot a note in the margins for the change I wanted to make. Printing it out also provides the ultimate back-up copy.

When the draft is done, I've got it printed so I can start to do the editing. I can see the notes that struck me during and make a more clear-headed judgment about whether or not I actually need to make the change. More often than not, it would've only made the story worse which saves me tons of rewriting time.

Once all the reworking is done, I print it again and read the entire thing aloud, highlighting clunky bits, wrong words, etc.

Maybe I'm old (totally possible), but doing it on paper is just a whole pile easier on the eyes and being able to tote it around and work on it anywhere is great. Yeah, yeah, I know about laptops, but I haven't found a laptop that likes the commute and I hated the repair bill.

Both

I do the first 50 edits on screen, changing the font occasionally to shake it up (I catch a lot of errors by changing the font). Then I print it out which lets me catch more errors. I keep the printouts. Then make the changes in the computer, then finish up with two ... or ten ... edits.

Cassiopeia said:

I proof on the computer and then in the final draft I go to paper. That way I can write myself notes like Madison says. Even if the note is, STOP WRITING PASSIVE SENTENCES!

Yeah I obsess about them.

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The drafts are proofed by me on paper, when they can be printed by me and all of the horrible bits can be circled in happy blue ink by me.

...of course, I write by hand, so the most changes get made when I actually type it up.

nevada said:

That's a passive sentence. Hahahaha you (<---what is this here, missy? where's your capitalization?) knew i'd do that.

I do both. I find I see things differently when it's printed out. So I catch different things, see different problems. Yes it wastes some paper but if i recycle i wont feel as guilty. lol

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Oh it is a rare moment when I catch you out.