Take Care of 'The Little Nails': How to Avoid Common Mistakes in Your Writing

 

by Tatiana Claudy

 

     What do King Richard III of England and a writer have in common? During a battle the king's horse lost one nail from its horseshoe. In vain cried the king, "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!" (William Shakespeare). The enemies defeated his army, and as a result the king lost his kingdom. When a writer neglects "little nails" - details - such as checking names of people, as a result he may lose readers. It may also cost him assignments because editors will evaluate his writing for accuracy.
     Working nine years as a fact checker and translator, I have noticed most common mistakes that reduce the value of a manuscript and diminish the chances of its publication. If you pay attention to the details in your writing, you will be able to avoid them.

Research
     Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, to do it with authority and confidence you need thoroughly researched data. Alden Todd, an author of several books, states, "It is the researcher's job to separate the factual and valid from what may be exaggerated or even untrue." Do not rely on "common knowledge" and "tradition," but question the material yourself.

Don't use unreliable sources
     In our digital age, research became almost synonymous with the Internet. While empowering writers to access the latest information, this may bring trouble. "We've ran into problems with people getting incorrect information from the Internet," said Mary Best Ellis, editor of Our State: Down Home in North Carolina. "I don't really  trust it completely yet."

     Be careful: Research on educational sites (e.g., universities, libraries, encyclopedias)  and on homepages of reliable organizations (e.g., companies, governmental sites, etc.).
     What about traditional research in printed media? An author Brendan Hennessy  admonished, "Errors are repeated in newspaper articles for months and years; cuttings are  such a convenient source of information and deadlines can make checking less rigorous."
     Can you rely on data received by consulting experts personally or via the Internet  (e.g., Allexperts.com)? Keep in mind: Even leaders in their fields often express their  opinions and interpretations. As a writer, you should use sound skepticism to double-

check their statements.

Don't base your writing on insufficient research
     While working on this article, I came across the quotation, "The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything." Perfunctory research showed that its author, an Englishman, Edward John Phelps, said it in 1822. A deeper digging proved three mistakes: (1) the author of the quotation is Bishop William Connor Magee (1821-1891), who said it in his sermon in 1868; (2) Edward John Phelps was an American; (3) he was born in 1822. As minister to Great Britain, he used the quotation when delivering his speech in London in 1889.
     You should remember that one source is no source. Talk to several people to confirm the same information. The rule of thumb is to gather at least five or six pages of research for one page of your writing.

Facts
     "Facts alone are wanted in life" (Charles Dickens). Well-researched facts lay a solid foundation for your writing and establish your reputation as a knowledgeable author. Mistakes in facts damage your credibility and confuse editors.

Don't forget to check scientific facts
     "Does it [a dream] dry up like a raisin in the sun?" (Hughes, Langston, Harlem). A grape dries in the sun and turns into a raisin.

 

Don't forget to check geographical facts

       An author listed branches of his ministry in different countries, including Siberia. Since the end of 1600s Siberia has been a part of Russia and not an independent country.

 

Don't forget to check historical facts
     An author wrote, "Hitler participated at the Yalta Conference." It was the final meeting, in February 1945, of the "Big Three": President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, and Premier Stalin, where they agreed on plans for the final defeat of Germany.

Don't mention facts that you cannot explain
     While translating a story on Savonarola (Italian religious reformer), I read that he was involved in a challenge to ordeal by fire. The author did not clarify how it had to be performed, although it was the crucial event in Savonarola's life.  Respect your readers by providing them with a proper explanation of facts. Bear in mind that, in return, they will give you their most valuable commodity - their time.

Quotations
     "By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote" (Ralph Waldo Emerson). Use reliable and reputable sources of quotations such as The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Quotations, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations by John Bartlett or The Columbia World of Quotations (available at www.bartleby.com).

Don't pass by the opportunity to quote from original sources
     Secondary sources often have errors in quotations: for instance, added, missed, or changed words, wrong authorship (if any). In a publication I found "Look to this day!" poem, attributed to "Author Unknown":

"Look to this day!

For it is life, the very life of life . . ."

     Still "unknown author" is Kalidasa, (fourth-fifth century), the greatest of all ancient Indian playwrights, and this is his famous poem "Salutation to the Dawn."

Don't forget to send photocopies of quotations to editors
     Editors have responsibilities to their readers to provide them with truthful information. That is why someone has to double-examine all quotations for accuracy. Readers may not buy again a periodical if it is filled with mistakes.

Names
     Accuracy in names is a minimum homework that both editors and readers expect from a writer. Mistakes in this area may lead to their questioning your professionalism.

Don't forget to check names of people (also titles and relationship)
     In a biographical article on Mary Queen of Scots, a writer referred to her also as Mary Queen of Scotland. Yet it was not the same person. Mary of Guise, Queen of Scotland, was the mother of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots.

Don't forget to check names of places, special events, etc.
     Writing about Russian Easter, an author mentioned Palm Sunday. The correct name of the event, celebrated by Russian Orthodox Christians, is Pussy-willow Sunday.

Words
     Writers often go through "intolerable wrestle with words and meanings" (Thomas Eliot) to learn the correct usage of words and expressions. Thus they establish clear communication with audience, which is a main goal of any good writing.

Don't be careless with superlatives
     Who's Who in the Bible (Reader's Digest) says, "According to tradition, Paul was beheaded in Rome, though no one recorded the exact circumstances of his death."   Foxe's Book of Martyrs, that "is well fitted . . . to do great service for Evangelical and Protestant truth" (W. G. Berry, editor), gives a description of the apostle's last hours.
     Watch superlatives: Using words like the best, the worst, the first, the last, the only, never, always, every, all, none, you claim absolutes that you must ether soften or prove.

Don't misinterpret foreign words and phrases
     An author wrote, "A man was persona gratis in that country." The correct expression is persona grata. You cannot interchange these Latin words: grata means welcome, but gratis means costing nothing.  Do not allow similarities of words to mislead you. Some foreign words are not called "translators' false friends" for nothing. You can find definitions of foreign words and phrases, for instance, in Cambridge International Dictionary of English (available at dictionary.cambridge.org).

 

Got a moral?

     "Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it" (Lewis Carroll). There is one in the story about King Richard III: He lost his life, "and all for the want of a horse shoe nail" (Mother Goose and Nursery Rimes). Keeping this in mind, you should take proper care of your "little nails" - details - in  your writing.