Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Forget numbers, try Nadsat

Yes, numbers can be a real challenge when it comes to editing, but what if you were editing a novel or short story in a strange language or unusual slang.

Just take a moment to think of how you would react, if you were handed a manuscript that is mostly filled with typos and errors (I mean so full of typos and errors that it is barely understandable). That is what happened with Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. The main character undergoes a medical treatment to improve his mental abilities, and as he improves, so does the writing of the novel.

Or what if the author come up with his own slang. How would know that "horrorshow" means good? Imagine how the editor for Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange felt the first time he or she read the manuscript.

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