While editing my novel (currently known as “New Westville”), I found this beauty of a sentence:
“Well, that works well, but we’re out of batteries,” she said, doffing through her backpack.
Did anyone else lift an eyebrow? I usually catch funny errors during my writing, but I accidently mistyped a real word I’ve never heard of. For those curious, it means to remove (an article of clothing) or to tip (a hat). If I’d say “doffing her backpack,” I could get away with it. But I don’t know how to remove through something.
Point is, don’t expect Word—or any other automatic checker—to find your errors for you. In this case, my favorite two readers glanced over this error too!
Best wishes,
-Katie
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