Saving our bacon...
Bryce Main
Multi-genre author, mostly Crime fiction. Scottish. Been writing longer than I’ve been wearing big boy’s trousers.
Writers aren’t always the best people to check their own copy for typos, misspellings etc.
It’s a real pain in the arse…but there’s a good reason why.
Make that two.
Ever heard of Saccadic Masking?
Nope?
Me neither.
Saccadic Masking is a defence mechanism. With it, your brain selectively blocks your visual processing whenever you move your eyes.
You can see where your eyes are looking before they start moving. You can see where they end up looking when they stop moving.
But everywhere in between gets blocked out. If it didn’t, all you’d see is a constant blur.
And you’d probably feel dizzy and throw up.
The consequence of this is that for about 40 minutes every day there’s a gaping hole in your vision.
In effect…you’re blind.
In total, for about 10 days a year.
I have a theory.
It concerns the aforementioned Saccadic Masking.
It also concerns an illusion where, when you check your own writing, your brain ignores any missing letters or spelling mistakes.
It trusts your judgement.
It expects to see the complete, correct word, so it skips over the mistake as if everything was hunky dory.
It isn’t.
This is where a good proofreader comes in very handy.
One thing you need to understand about proofreaders.
They’re not human.
They’re something….more.
Some folk believe they are what we could be, if we didn’t make so many mistakes.
Unlike humans, proofreaders can move their eyes from the first letter of a word (or a sentence, or a paragraph) to the last, normally very quickly, without experiencing any blind spots in between.
They are masters (and mistresses) of Saccadic Masking and Illusion.
They see what we don’t.
In fact they see everything.
They don’t miss a trick.
Their eyes have exactly the same level of expectation as their brains.
They can spot a misplaced modifier or a misused apostrophe a mile away.
They can tell an Oxford comma from a common or garden one.
Their ability to see the need for an amend knows no bounds.
They are the saviours of many a writer’s (and therefore, agency’s) reputation.
They are neither used often enough nor appreciated often enough.
We mere humans have a lot to thank them for.
They operate quietly in the background.
Correcting our errors.
Saving our bacon…
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9 年Most of my writer friends, read their manuscripts out loud after they finish their "final" edit. It's amazing how reading aloud engages a different mental mechanism, one that processes every word instead of injecting correct words where they have been omitted or wrongly spelled. It's still inferior to the services of a strong editor/proofreader. By the same token, proofreaders are not always correct. Sometimes a writer injects intentional "wrong" words into the prose, errors needed to maintain a certain character, tone or voice in the work. When a proofreader changes those intended words, the work is adversely impacted.
Obsessively writing, Philosophising, Ghost Writing & Consulting
9 年A great tribute to the proof readers who are the backroom boys who go unnoticed.... Most people look down upon a proof reader and I'm glad you have recognized and lauded the role they play.... They may not bring home the bacon but indeed they save the bacon
Account / Media Specialist
9 年Never forget the time a copywriter (not yourself) put something a little rude in an advert, thinking it would be funny - no-one checked it and it was sent to the client. The client spotted it !!!!!!
Know idea wot your on about Bryce. I never make spellling misstakes.