Editing Detective, Terra Poole

Regret The Error?

In this ever-changing world, writers still need to be as accurate as they possibly can. This is a world where social media like twitter and blogs are becoming an extremely popular way for people to spend their time. If writers are making grammar and/or spelling errors then this affects the credibility of the writer. However, this blog report will take a step back from social media and focus more on traditional mediums because authors of novels and songwriters make errors too. The question is, do they regret the error?

Mistakes Everywhere

Just like Steven said in his blog post, there are examples of mistakes littered everywhere in all forms of media. There shouldn't be errors in novels either. However, like Steven suggests, humans make errors. Stephanie Meyer, is indeed a human and makes several errors throughout her novels. She is the author of the novels:

• The Host (2008)
• Prom Nights From Hell (2007)
• Twilight (2005)
• New Moon (2006)
• Eclipse (2007)
• Breaking Dawn (2008)

An example of an error Meyer makes in one of her novels is on page 425 of New Moon, Meyer wrote

"Alice's voice dropped till it was nearly inaudible, though I was sitting inches from her..."

This is a misuse of the word "till" and should read "until." This is not a significant grammatical error, nonetheless, it is still considered an error. Another error example in New Moon is on page 426:

"...We could try to stop Edward ourselves - if Emmett could get his hands on him, we might be able to stop him long enough to convince him you're alive."

This sentence is slightly confusing because it suggests "him" is Emmett whereas "him" is actually referring to both Edward and Emmett. It should properly read:

"We could try to stop Edward ourselves - if Emmett could get Emmett's hands on Edward, we might be able to stop Edward long enough to convince Edward you're alive."

Though, it could be argued that correcting those errors changes the flow of the sentences from smooth to awkward, the errors should be noted regardless. However, songwriters sometimes purposely make grammatical errors for the purpose of artistic "flow". There are many examples of this in songs. "Can't Hardly Wait" by the Replacements is an example.

Song Example

Technically, it should be, "Can Hardly Wait" because the other way suggests a double negative which would imply the person could wait, which the song does not suggest with the rest of the lyrics. It could be argued that "can't" sounds more appropriate, poetic or more sing-song than "can" and that is why Paul Westerberg chose to use it. Songs seem to be considered differently than novels for some reason. This is likely because songs tend to be more poetic than novels. Novels and songs differ for some reason in that songs tend to be able to make more grammatical errors without repercussions from fans or critics.

Note: Image from Beautifulmurals

Screen capture from: Stlyrics