Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Automating Style Sheets

My next feature for my pre-edit software is to automate the creation of editor style sheets. I already have a feature that collects all the possible misspellings. In using the Story Shop planning app (https://www.storyshop.io), I noticed that it's an error-prone process to rely on human memory to create an element card for every person/place in the story. Therefore, I put a small add-on into my tool to collect, weight, and group each proper noun in a novel. Fiction Vortex intends to incorporate the feature.

The example below is from my book "the K2 Virus."  The computer can't tell if two similar names refer to the same person. In this case, even gender clues won't help because Tony and Tonia are the same person. My favorite is how Big Bang is a member of Warden Bang's extended family, and Mr. Park is right next to Olympic Park. That's okay. A human can very quickly convert this into something usable. Already, I've used the tool to find incorrect spellings (Reuben vs Rueben) or Dr without the period. The weighted nature helps to weed out noise and stress the relative importance of each character. I chuckled when I saw that the tool labeled Blood and English as key elements in the story because it's right.

Daniel Mann
Tonia
    Tonia Benedict
    Tonia Marian Benedict
Varsity Kohl
Sister Ahn
Mr. Jero
Koreans
    Korean
    South Korean
    Korean Air
    Korean War
    Korea
    Republic of Korea
    North Korea
    South Korea
    United States Forces Korea
Corporal Webb
Uncle Dae
Mr. Yeonlihan
Sam
Officer Tamguja
Peterson
Henri LeBeau
Seoul
    Seoul Central
    Seoul National University
    Seoul Internet
Benedict
    Dr. Benedict
    Doctor Benedict
    Benedict Arnold
    Tony Marlin Benedict
    Doc Benedict
Pyongyang
Colonel Branson
Red
    Chinese Red Steppe
    Red Cross
    Red Snow
China
Bang
    Warden Bang
    Mr. Bang
    Mrs. Bang
    Big Bang
English
Sister Elizabeth
Dr. Young
Mindy
Mann
    Monsieur Mann
    Mr. Mann
    Mrs. Mann
    Dr. Mann
Oni
Torpedo
Hong Kong
Christmas Massacre
American
    African-American
    American Embassy
    America
Pharmacyte
Park
    Kaesong Industrial Park
    Olympic Park
    Bangi-Dong Park
    Mr. Park
Jakun
Ryongchon County
Sinuiju Medical University
Hanawon Center
Blood
Aunt Eun
Officer Mylinsatu
Hamilton Hotel
Mr. Avery
Baltimore
Asia
Major Ganghan
Harvard
Christian
Maryland
Japanese
United States
Sad Sack
Blue House

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