WILL HAS THE TASK

FOUND ONLINE: Again, we will has the task of separating what is important from the noise.

Of course, the writer meant "we will HAVE the task." It's just a typo, I know, but this writer did a great job otherwise in finding errors. You need to backread EVERYTHING.

In my sixth newspaper job, my boss suggested I read a story forward, then read it again backward, paragraph by paragraph. It works. (I just did that backwards method and found two typos.)

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EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  TWITTER: EDITORatWORK

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• You really DO need an editor

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• Slogging through the Internet

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ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

SAID IN AN EMAIL

I hate the way The Associated Press handled the attribution on this paragraph.

“This isn’t just an offensive gesture that sticks a thumb in the eye of millions of U.S. citizens who speak other languages, but also will directly harm those who have previously relied on language assistance for vital information,” Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of America’s Voice, an advocacy group for immigration reform, said in an email.

I'd cut out the email part and do it this way:

“This isn’t just an offensive gesture that sticks a thumb in the eye of millions of U.S. citizens who speak other languages, but also will directly harm those who have previously relied on language assistance for vital information,” said Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of America’s Voice, an advocacy group for immigration reform.

That's still too much information at once, but it's way better than the other way.

* * *

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  TWITTER: EDITORatWORK

MORE EDITOR@WORK BLOG ENTRIES

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

BLOG ENTRIES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

ANECDOTES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer OUTTA there!

ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing