Spot That Error

I’ve been playing Spot That Error! for the past couple weeks. Why? Because I had three agents request my book at the writing conference. I wanted the thing 100% error proof. Which, if you’ve ever written anything 80,000 words long, is impossible. So I focused mainly on my first chapter. Surely I could get those words whipped into shape, right? I read, re-read, re-re-read, you get the idea. I read the thing so much I could quote it word for word.

Yesterday I sent it off. Whew.

It wasn’t easy.

And of course I couldn’t leave it alone. I had to go back and read it again, just to make sure I’d caught everything. I still have one agent left to send to, so reading it now isn’t a total waste of time. Here’s a snippet of what I sent. And, of course, there is an error. See if you can find it. If you do, please (please!) comment and tell me if you see it. It may be so hidden no one finds it, which means the agent may not find it. But you’ve been warned about it, so it probably won’t be too hard to spot. Honestly, it’s probably not a big deal–and certainly nothing to lose sleep over, although I did. Am I overreacting? You tell me. Here’s the snippet:

“You think he’ll jump?” he asked.
“Not a chance. The guys do this every year. Usually they just climb to the top, wave their arms around, and act like morons. A sophomore died a few years ago. Broke his neck when he hit the water. Three people drowned trying to save him. Now everyone’s too scared to jump.”
“Are you?”
She rounded on him. His question sounded innocent enough, but something in his voice seemed like a threat. “Why do you think I would want to jump off a ninety-foot dam?”
He shrugged, acted casual. “I’ve heard you’re a daredevil, that’s all.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes.”
“You haven’t heard anything else?”
He locked his eyes on her. She froze. He knows. How could he have found out? She’d never told anyone. Maybe she was overacting. How could Ian know about her ancestry? He’d only been in Jefferson a few months. He cleared his throat, turning his gaze to the dam where Ross stood on top, waved his arms around, and acted like a moron.

2 Responses

  1. And Sherri wins a cookie! Yep, I stayed awake at night thinking of this silly word. It's all so appropriate–as I feel I may be overreacting ; )