JenNipps said:
Why is it, do you think, that we can't (OK, I can't) see the problems in our own work? Even a year or two after the fact? Sure, I can spot big things, but it's the little things that add up to big inconsistencies that I often have trouble with.
Have you ever observed yourself reading? I did that in high school, mostly out of desperation. Little errors (and may the muses bless me enough, not the big ones) are a very common part of my act. Drove me crazy when I’d lose marks for checking the wrong box on a multiple choice test. Anyway, when you read, you do not spot each letter and put them together like you're taught. You take in the first few letters, recognize the word, maybe skip a few letters to the end to make certain, and move along. Between the first letter, the shape of the word, and the context, recognition is a synch, and so we get into the habit. (In fact, I remember now, I've read that this is a scientifically tested trivia. As long as the first and the last one or two letters are correct, the guts of a word, if the letters are equal, doesn't matter at all.) Well, and this is with a stranger. Your own writing is even worse, because it is so familiar. Synapses are snapping into place everywhere, context is crystal clear and solid, and then there's the simply fact that you're hoping to find zilch and zero. The psychological aspect of this shouldn't be taken for granted either. What you read it’s you. The construction is typical of you, it rings to you. All this together makes it very easy to tune out with your eyes and read the story almost entirely from memory and intuition, even if you think you've forgotten it. As a result, mistakes are apt to slip through.
Reading aloud is a good trick, because it adds a new paradigm and keeps you on your toes. However, I've found that once you get used to it, you can do the same thing with your mouth open. Personally, I've made a point to waste the extra time on the first draft so that the edit is less required later. But when I get to it, I psyche myself to see the story negatively. That way I'm eager to find mistakes and they're eager, in turn, to wave hello. A warning: you have to be tough or it’s a traumatic experience.