It really does pay to be careful with editing, especially self-editing. Last night, just as I was about to finish for the day I discovered the most gigantic howler… the sort of stupid error which would have been embarrassing beyond measure if I hadn’t realised and had put ‘Flipside’ out with the mistake still in!
It comes down to my writing process; when I am actually writing a story it just gets carried along almost by itself and I sort out the continuity and rationale, and the chronology, afterwards when I have a lump of a story there. It’s a bit like getting loads of bits of clay and pummeling them into some sort of rough shape, and then I go through breaking bits off, stretching parts, rounding and smoothing other parts, refining, delineating details until I produce something recognizable… sometimes there is an air-bubble trapped inside which could rupture the whole piece when it’s in the kiln of publication (I’m getting a bit fanciful here!)
However, back to Flipside; I’ve found the error, I’m correcting it, and I am checking back through again for any further mistakes… I’ll keep you informed!
Lois Elsden 