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What did you botch?

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Maximum Dynamite Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Sep 2021 at 2:22pm
Originally posted by Wolff1 Wolff1 wrote:

There are so many ways to mess up a final draft, no doubt. I've been kicking myself all morning after realizing that my attempted simile involving a soccer player taking a dive lacked an important word: "nearly" (being tripped). If the soccer player was actually tripped, falling down would be reasonable. Arg.

I'm sure you are your own worst critic. It probably makes enough sense that no one but you would think twice about it. Don't sweat it too much! 

Originally posted by shady shady wrote:

After a frustrating - and super busy! - day and a half, I scraped my story. The second one I wrote while working and had two hours to give my daughter attention, tighten up the story, add a foreshadowing scene, quick review and submit - with a minute to spare! The second one is a much better story but I didn't revise it much. I described incidental characters but not the supporting characters.   

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I'm co-writing with my 12 year old, and in one of his parts he wrote "(Insert character here, Pop)." I caught it, but I was just thinking I bet you gave a little more info than that... ;)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Maximum Dynamite Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Sep 2021 at 2:29pm
Originally posted by nod1v1ng nod1v1ng wrote:


NYCm ninja advice: do not reread your story post-deadline. It will almost certainly make you angsty. I usually wash my hands of it for at least a couple of weeks...

This is great advice. I didn't reread mine, I just remembered that I meant to go back to that detail and never did! But oh well. I'm over it! Obsessing on it won't change anything.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote amlewi08 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Sep 2021 at 2:36pm
Originally posted by nod1v1ng nod1v1ng wrote:


NYCm ninja advice: do not reread your story post-deadline. It will almost certainly make you angsty. I usually wash my hands of it for at least a couple of weeks...

Came here to say exactly this.

Without re-reading, I don't think I BOTCHED anything, per se.  But I'm not sure that I really nailed much either.  Ehh.  It is what it is.


Edited by amlewi08 - 13 Sep 2021 at 2:37pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote theinquisitor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Sep 2021 at 2:58pm
I tried to change 'he caught glimpses of recipes' to 'he glimpsed recipes' and ended up with 'he caught glimpses recipes'. I wouldn't mind but it wasn't even a last-minute, late-night submission this time.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Maximum Dynamite Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Sep 2021 at 3:03pm
Originally posted by theinquisitor theinquisitor wrote:

I tried to change 'he caught glimpses of recipes' to 'he glimpsed recipes' and ended up with 'he caught glimpses recipes'. I wouldn't mind but it wasn't even a last-minute, late-night submission this time.

Those kinds of errors can be the hardest to catch. All the words are spelled correctly, and on some level your brain knows you wrote all those words at one time or another, so nothing seems amiss. Particularly if you've already read the bit in question a hundred times. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chrissie0707 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Sep 2021 at 3:08pm
Originally posted by nod1v1ng nod1v1ng wrote:


NYCm ninja advice: do not reread your story post-deadline. It will almost certainly make you angsty. I usually wash my hands of it for at least a couple of weeks...

THIS. I re-read my Challenge #1 story for the first time last week to do some editing before submitting to pubs. Let it simmer. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote surnica Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Sep 2021 at 3:11pm
Originally posted by theinquisitor theinquisitor wrote:

I tried to change 'he caught glimpses of recipes' to 'he glimpsed recipes' and ended up with 'he caught glimpses recipes'. I wouldn't mind but it wasn't even a last-minute, late-night submission this time.

I had a sentence that said "Inspection found no abnormalities were found" in my first submission. My daughter asked to read it after I submitted and was like "Uh... Mom, should I fix this for you?" Luckily I had time to resubmit. LOL

I haven't read it again since I submitted. I'm sure there's plenty more of those errors. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote taaaylor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Sep 2021 at 3:21pm
Originally posted by chrissie0707 chrissie0707 wrote:

Originally posted by nod1v1ng nod1v1ng wrote:


NYCm ninja advice: do not reread your story post-deadline. It will almost certainly make you angsty. I usually wash my hands of it for at least a couple of weeks...

THIS. I re-read my Challenge #1 story for the first time last week to do some editing before submitting to pubs. Let it simmer. 
I wish I had anything approaching this level of self control. I can't not reread it. I'm the girl in the horror movie who goes down into the spooky basement because I HAVE TO KNOW 

So counter-advice: life is suffering, the source of suffering is desire to not have typos ;) Tbh I will say, even if you do notice a typo or mistake... unless it's misreading a required part of the prompt, no typo's going to kill anyone's chances of a good score. Read it, laugh at the tiny mistakes, let them go. It'll all work out <3

ETA: I forgot to add my botch was accidentally repeating the general wording of slime/goo-coated within a couple paragraphs of each other. I'll take that over other typos I've made in the past, lol


Edited by taaaylor - 13 Sep 2021 at 5:40pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jaevada Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Sep 2021 at 4:57pm
I had the epiphany of a much better title this morning, at least 12 hours after the deadline.  I almost wish I hadn't realized this as now I am kicking myself.  Oh well, I suck at titles anyway. :)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote KOLynn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Sep 2021 at 5:24pm
Originally posted by Jaevada Jaevada wrote:

I had the epiphany of a much better title this morning, at least 12 hours after the deadline.  I almost wish I hadn't realized this as now I am kicking myself.  Oh well, I suck at titles anyway. :)

It may not reach the judges, but you can still add the new title. There's always hope for publishing elsewhere!

My story was horror and the title was very briefly a reference to a Comedy/"Horror" children books series and I was really mad I couldn't keep it.
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