Murder: It Can Be Fatal

PROBLEM: We said the victim was the victim of a stable wound, when in fact it was a stab wound. A spelling error that creates a new word and a change of meaning is a fatal.

SOLUTION: This is an example of a spelling error that spell check won't catch, because the error creates a correctly-spelled but unintended word. After all, stable is spelled correctly, if we were trying to spell stable (which means, among other things, an enclosure where animals are kept). Problem was,  we were trying to spell stab, as in, a deep inward cut. 
One more time: spell check is a supplement to -- but not a substitute for --  checking your story fact-by-fact, line-by-line, and quote-by-quote to ensure accuracy.

***** 

PROBLEM: We identified the restaurant as the North Pointe Inn, with an "e" in Pointe, when in fact it was North Point Inn, with no "e."

SOLUTION: We really need to make sure we are giving just as much time to fact-checking after we finish writing as we are actually writing. Avoiding fatals has nothing to do with talent, just vigilance. Please review the fact-checking strategy posts from earlier this semester and make changes to your proofreading habits as needed.

Here is a very basic strategy I think would help: when finished writing but before sending, print out your story. Then, on the printed copy circle every noun (person, place or thing), number, title, address and quote. Then, go through each circled item and check them against the book. As you check and certify that they are correct, put an X-mark over each circle. I promise you that you will catch 95 percent of fatals this way, if you do it carefully and thoroughly. 

*****

PROBLEM: Inside of a quote, we misspelled have, turning it into ave. Any misspelling inside of a quote that changes what was literally said is a fatal.

SOLUTION: Same as above. And regarding spell check, please DO use it; it would have probably caught this error. Just don't only use spell check; also do your own proofing work.

***** 

Learning to write isn't journalism. Learning to organize information isn't all of journalism. Putting in a system of checking facts before, during and after writing and organizing information is what makes this kind of writing and organizing known as journalism. 

The good news is, many of my previous classes had fatals binges, especially early in the semester when we're still reconciling balancing speed and accuracy. The fact is, most people in previous classes get two or three or four fatals in practice stories over the course of the semester, and still end up with a solid grade. 

The bad news is, some of us have already used up our three or so fatals. We have to buckle up and start avoiding 'em here and there. 

Still, while this is discouraging, let's not get discouraged. The whole point of these exercises -- and getting fatals, too -- is to learn by doing, reviewing what was done, learning what could be done better, and then applying those lessons the next time. 
And that's what we're going to do here, by redoubling our efforts to carefully fact-check everything we write. 

In a previous blog post, I offered a number of cut-and-pasted handouts on good fact-checking habits. I'm not in the business of handing things out just to be busy; those handouts included many tips we should be integrating into our routines, so we can become relatively fatal-free. You can link directly to those handouts right here. 

Let's not let these bad times go to waste. Rather, let's use these mistakes as an opportunity to identify where we tend to trip up and how we can do better the next time, and as motivation to follow through with rigorous fact-checking from here on out.