Tim HayesI mentioned in my response to #WritersCoffeeClub 31/3: What are we celebrating regarding your writing this month? about editing the novel I’ve just finished writing and how I’m currently hunting down and killing those pesky typos. Sneaky little creatures if you ask me, hiding in plain sight trying to ruin my carefully crafted prose. On thing I can tell you for sure is when my first beta reader starts reporting back to me on the typos they’ve spotted as soon as I go to correct the I can guarantee I’ll notice a few more in close proximity which neither of us have previously seen.
It strikes me that typos and Fnords have a lot in common. "Fnord" is a word which entered into popular culture after appearing in The Illuminatus! Trilogy written by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. Here, the interjection "fnord" is given hypnotic power over the unenlightened, and every appearance of the word subconsciously generates a feeling of unease and confusion which prevents rational consideration of the text in which it appears. Maybe the two are related…
