On Monday, I mentioned plugging gaps and tweaking infelicities, and it occurred to me (later) that readers may be interested in what an “infelicity” looks like — to me anyway. (I can’t speak for other authors, although I’m sure there are overlaps. :D)

From this …

By way of examples, the first and obvious contenders are typos, grammatical errors, and missed words. Small stuff, but they still affect the reader experience.

Closely followed by repetition, from the smaller stuff (fourteen instances of the use of “dark” or “darkness” on one page — that was in HEIR), to larger sections of material repeated within a chapter, which was something that cropped up yesterday. Repetition can also include repeating ideas or plot points, particularly in close proximity, even where the wording used is different.

… to this …

An infelicity hunt also includes a keen watch for expository lumps a la Ursula Le Guin (conveying necessary information, but too much en masse) and word salads — those sentences or paragraphs that comprise nice words in a pleasant order, but are largely “content free.” (I know, I know, the latter are the rightful purview of politicians. 😉 But they can creep into books, too, if the author is not vigilant.)

Continuity errors and consistency are also in the mix, i.e. where a character has said or done something in one place, or worn or used something, or had a realization — but later it’s as if that either didn’t happen, or the subsequent action directly contradicts it. So I like to weed those out wherever I spot them.

… then back to this …

Needless to say, I do try not to commit any of these infelicities when I write, but the faster I go, or the more tired I am, the more likely they are to rear their unwelcome heads. I also tried to pick them up in the recently completed Revision phase — but the focus of that was the overall story and characters, and other Big Stuff, which is why I’m having another hunt for the smaller stuff now. Sweating it even, one might say. 😀

You may also be thinking, “Isn’t finding such things the editorial team’s job?” And it is — but I believe it’s also everyone’s job, including mine, because there is always something that slips through. So the more eyes and minds on the manuscript, the less slip-through’s are likely to occur.

And one day this  — it’s a continuum.:)