Feb. 28, 2006
I really don't know if the quote is "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of..." or "a foolish inconsistency is the hobgoblin of..."

But...

I'm finishing up my editor's changes to The Serpent's Kiss, and giving it one more go-through, paying particular attention to things like:

ID versus I.D. and FBI versus F.B.I. and VA versus V.A. (as in Veterans Affairs, not Virginia). I'm making sure that Roger Kandling, who was originally Roger Taplin, remains Roger Kandling. The problem there is there is another character named Taplin-Smithson, and they aren't related and I didn't notice it, but my editor did.

I personally don't have a big gripe about whether you put periods in these things, but I want them consistent throughout the work. Actually, I do have preferences. ID, not I.D. In fact, I.D. makes no sense at all since it's an abbreviation for "identify" or "identification," neither, which you may have noticed, is two words. The one I'm most likely to be inconsistent with is Fire Department or Police Department, say, "He was with the Detroit F.D." versus, "He was with the Detroit FD," or perhaps DFD.

Yes, it's a handy thing to be an anal-retentive obsessive-compulsive.

Best,
Mark Terry