Hi David, the count has gone down to 899 now, still over the Word word count at 862.  I've tried going into edit again but it's staying at 899.  I hope you're not getting fed up with us all David. 
Sandra

Wordcounts can vary between different word processors as well - if I'm about to penalise a student for going over the limit-plus-ten-percent, I always paste their story into a couple of other word processors, and there can be a good 1% or 2% difference
Edited by EmmaD at 16:53:00 on 13 January 2014

I am in complete agreement with everything James Graham has said. I really think one size fits all -- doesn't...

That's interesting EmmaD. So which word processor is the most accurate? I use Microsoft Word on my PC, and would like to know what you think of its accuracy. This is important to me because I am studying for my degree and word count is very important for all coursework.
Jo

Desormais - please try again now, I think it may be down to 870ish now!?
As Emma says, there will always be a few minor differences, but I would hope we can get it within a word or two of Word.

Hi David, yes it's down to 871 now, thank you.  I've just painstakingly counted the words on my Word document and I got it to 865.   So that's quite an acceptable margin of error, and I'll just keep my work from going right up to the max word limit on Flash Fiction 1.  Many thanks for all your efforts.  Much appreciated.
Sandra

So which word processor is the most accurate? I use Microsoft Word on my PC, and would like to know what you think of its accuracy.

Well I don't actually know, because I've never sat down and hand-counted anything, to know what the word count really truly is, of a story that comes in at 979 in Scrivener, 998 in Word, 1006 in Open Office, and 1155 in WordPad  ... (those are made-up examples...). With students, I just give them benefit of the doubt and allow the shortest count, but other tutors may not be that kind (or just in more of a hurry. Or not have that WP program).

It may well be different depending on whether you submit as a .doc vs .docx, .pdf, .rtf etc. etc., too.

I think you'll find, for example, that whether a hyphenated word counts as one or two will vary - after all, we'd call "no-one" a single word, but "long-felt", as in want as two. Some programs may allow you to tweak what it counts - I don't know.

Which is one reason I always advise students that the +10% really is to allow for these variables, and not (if you're sensible) to go to the wire with it, and risk being over. 7% is a hefty chunk of marks to lose, for five words, say. Especially if it knocks you down a grade band - I always want to weep when a student does themselves a stupid disservice of that sort...
Edited by EmmaD at 18:21:00 on 13 January 2014
Edited by EmmaD at 18:22:00 on 13 January 2014

David - any chance of having the spell-checker "off" as a default, rather than on?

I find wriggly red lines profoundly irritating myself, plus I have a little mini-campaign against writers relying on them, rather than doing a spell-check as an active process every now and again, because relying on them is dangerous ... (and thereby happens many an idiocy of the "damp squid" "chest of draws" "tow the line" sort not to mention idiocies of the there/they're/their/th'heir sort...)

Thank you EmmaD that was very helpful. I had not realised the discrepancies could be so large. I'll be ultra-careful in future whenevere word counts are crucial in my work.
Jo

David, can we have a button to release us from forum notifications?
Jo

can we have a button to release us from forum notifications?

Heh. That's interesting - mine seem to have stopped altogether (they were always erratic at best). You and I should swap, Jo!

I've noticed My Writewords page format has changed. You seem to have a thing for putting stuff in boxes, David. I'm starting to get claustrophobic.  Less is more.
 
Edited by NMott at 19:23:00 on 13 January 2014

Font sizes in ‘Owner Edit’
 
If you’ve edited your work in a group - a piece you’ve already posted and want to change - have you found that you have to fiddle with font sizes to make sure your revised work appears all the same size?
 
What I’ve found is: in the Edit Box I add a new phrase or sentence, and make sure its font size is the same as the rest of the text. But when it’s posted in the group it’s smaller.
 
Why have different font sizes for editing? Why different fonts, even? You’re trying to revise your piece and focus on expressing things as well as you can, and you’re distracted by the hassle of getting your text the right size!
 
Why not have a single font (Arial will do) and a single font size (not too small)? So all we have to do is edit and submit. Then the edited text appears in its thread in the group, in the current font and size, which is good.
 
In the old obsolete WW, editing was simple. If it ain’t broke...
 
James.

Reluctantly, I'm beginning to agree with Artista's comment on the previous page. WW was better as it was. If it ain't broke...

Yes, Calliaphone...I agree!
Jo

I've also lost the capital letter at the beginning of a new paragraph.. You win some and some you lose...

 

A reply to Sharley’s comment - 12 January page 11.

 

All members won't be listed under current work, as not all members have work up at one time.

 
Members with ‘No work uploaded’ could be included too. What I really mean is, I want my Poetry Group page (not speaking for IC or other groups) to be just as it was before. I never had any complaints about it.
 
Edited by James Graham at 19:51:00 on 13 January 2014