As I anxiously await the results of a writing contest I entered, I read my entry only to notice a bit of a mistake. Why didn't I catch it earlier?
The entry was due months ago and I still have months to wait for the results. It isn't the first writing contest I've entered but it's an entry I'm very proud of. I can't stand the wait, so I decide to read through my entry one more time.
Everything is perfect. The descriptions are spot on, the flow is right, and the readers have no reason to suspect the sneaky surprise ending I'm about to hit them with. But as I get to the end of the story, something is amiss. I read it again. Oh, bugger. Have I made a mistake?
Not a spelling mistake, mind you, but an error of clarity. The story is about a woman, which you can tell since her first name is used throughout, and in the end of the story someone refers to her using her last name. But alas, I have forgotten the detail that puts the two together. Will the readers notice? Will they know who the person is referring to? At that part of the story, only two characters are chatting, and the main character obviously responds. Bugger.
When I first wrote the story I thought it was due in December. Then I found out it wasn't due until February so I let it sit. Just before the deadline, it went through several re-writes until I achieved my final product. While I did send it through spell check and read it out loud to find spelling and grammatical errors, I didn't let it sit enough to forget it.
I'm confident this little slip won't cost me the contest. If I don't do well it will be for another reason. But it is a huge lesson to me to practice more of what I preach by letting my work stew for a while before editing it one last time. It may not be so important this time, but it could cost me on my next assignment.
