Funny mistake in pro-published book

[mr ploppy]

Found this in a pro-published book I'm reading. The editor really should have caught it, but hands up anyone who doesn't do things like this and then forget?

"... I’ll let Glenda know what’s going on too, so she can head Jim off at the pass.” Beat. “Um…I guess that’s it. I’ll be here till two I guess if you want to call me. See ya.”

[kennyc]

you mean the 'beat' thing?

[HarryT]

Perhaps I'm missing something obvious, but what's wrong with this? I don't see the error.

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by kennyc

you mean the 'beat' thing?

Yes. He probably couldn't think of one at the time and meant to go back to it later but forgot.

http://melaniecard.com/for-writers/d...riptive-beats/

[HarryT]

I honestly wouldn't have noticed that if you hadn't explained it .

[VydorScope]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

Yes. He probably couldn't think of one at the time and meant to go back to it later but forgot.

http://melaniecard.com/for-writers/d...riptive-beats/

That is why I use "TODO:" tags. Easy to search for. But that comes out of my software dev background

[frahse]

I automatically corrected it in my mind, and put quotes around it so that he just made a side remark "Beat." meaning he was tired. i.e. "Beat." meaning "I am beat."

My own problems generally come about when I make a change, and don't totally erase the old sentence while adding the new one.
Or I mean to change the sentence, but neglect to remove one of the old words that is now meaningless or (usually) redundant.

I hate it when I do that.

That is when it is good to have a sharp eyed competent editor nearby.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

Yes. He probably couldn't think of one at the time and meant to go back to it later but forgot.

http://melaniecard.com/for-writers/d...riptive-beats/

It could have been deliberate. I read a trad-pub book a while ago (by Raymond Khoury called The Templar Salvation - a sort of action adventure thing) in which the author used the phrase "for a beat" quite regularly (I am guessing it was supposed to be in place of "for a moment" but presumably he thought "beat" was better for action scenes). I found it distracting, perhaps because it's not something I'd seen much of before. He also used phrases like "for a nanosecond" and similar that seemed inappropriate to my eye.

[Suzanna]

I read that as "he waited a beat before continuing", though I did think it was odd to shorten it to such an extreme. I could go either way on whether or not it was deliberate.

Shouldn't "till" be 'til, since it's short for "until"? I've never seen it spelled with two L's. (I'm Canadian, though, so perhaps it's some newfangled U.S. spelling I need to learn. )

[VydorScope]

Originally Posted by Suzanna

Shouldn't "till" be 'til, since it's short for "until"? I've never seen it spelled with two L's. (I'm Canadian, though, so perhaps it's some newfangled U.S. spelling I need to learn. )

Nope.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/till

Till is a correctly spelled word. I have had this discussion with editors and proofreaders galore.

till, until, 'til are all valid.

[LuceBianchi]

It's rather common in webcomics. It's where the term "beat panel" comes from. But for a novel, it is rather unusual. I most commonly see it in roleplaying or script-type formats.

I however would not mind. I am so used to seeing it on tvtropes that it doesn't really register anymore.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

Nope.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/till

Till is a correctly spelled word. I have had this discussion with editors and proofreaders galore.

till, until, 'til are all valid.

I asked my wife. (ok, I am a wuss)

She says "till" is wrong.
until and ( 'til or til -bordering on optional)

I wouldn't bet against her.

Now of course that is not to say that till is not common, but the Human English Language Compendium has spoken. "The staff of knowledge slams hard onto the marble floor! Mortals scuttle away into the corners and under the tables and hide."

"Thus it was spake, and of course was."

[Suzanna]

LOL, Frahse.

I'll concede, Vincent, that some say "till" is correct. It really bugs me, though, so I'll stick to 'til.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Suzanna

LOL, Frahse.

I'll concede, Vincent, that some say "till" is correct. It really bugs me, though, so I'll stick to 'til.

According to dictionary.com:

Usage note:
Till and until are both old in the language and are interchangeable as both prepositions and conjunctions: It rained till (or until) nearly midnight. The savannah remained brown and lifeless until (or till) the rains began. Till is not a shortened form of until and is not spelled 'till.

(Emphasis mine)

So it's rather more than "some say" . Look up "till" in your own dictionary and see what it says.

[VydorScope]

Exactly Harry. Both Frahse and Suzanna are in denial.