Can be/must be

efreysson · Jan 25, 2015

I have to characters heading into a dangerous situation, and the seasoned one warns the other that there's no room for mistakes. I wrote the line as:

"Now there can be no error."

Should it be:

"Now there must be no error."?

Maryn · Jan 25, 2015

Either can be correct.

"There can be no error" implies that only error-free performance allows success. Which is exactly what "There must be no error" means. So use whichever one better suits your character's way of speaking.

Maryn, whose characters would say, "Man, don't fuck this up!"

Can be/must be

efreysson

Closer than ever

Maryn

Baaa!