Spelling

[WistfulWriter7]

As I said in response to an old thread I posted I am considering breaking my fear of posting at least the beginning of my novel online to see what I can work or fine tune (or completely redo). I am no stranger to hard work and I want to put all my free time into this. There is one problem I'm concerned about though... I am one of the worst spellers on the planet...like ever. I have friends helping me right now, but they are still working on it....so what I have had been edited only by me. I have put hours into checking grammar and spelling on printed out sheets then meticulously typing them in. However, I still come across not too well. I really want people to see my work not my errors. I am going to really try to catch most of them before I post. I guess my question is are the great writers on here going to rip me a new one because of this and be distracted from the story? Or should I just go with it...do my best...and hope for the best...

[andrewhollinger]

I do know writers who are poor spellers. They just need help fixing some words.

But I don't think there's too much to be worried about. I don't know of a word processing program that doesn't have some kind of spell-check. That should catch your big mistakes. Then all you have to worry about is misspelling "here" for "hear" and so on. And those are mistakes you definitely want people to catch now.

So two points.

1) Spelling is too little a thing to not allow your work to be critiqued. How else will it get better?

2) Spelling is as important to a writer as a scalpel is to a surgeon. It's one of our tools. You may want to find a home course or something to help self-improve. Heaven forbid you get to a book signing and misspell something. It'll sell beau-coup bucks on eBay. ;)

[WistfulWriter7]

Thanks! I feel better. :)

[Bartholomew]

The best way to become a better speller is to keep a good old fashioned paper-bound dictionary around.

When in doubt about any word, check it.

This advice comes to you from the guy who once put "Payed" in a forum subject.

[johnzakour]

I'm a terible speler, butt it hasnt stoppped mi.

The things that have helped me are:

1) Turning Word's spell checking on (it does help me).

2) After 1000 words or so I have my computer read my text back to me. This helps me catch wrong words.

3) Have an anal friend read it over for other spelling errors

[FennelGiraffe]

1. Use a spell-checker, but don't assume the first option it offers is correct. Take the time to look at the choices carefully before clicking OK.

2. Understand what spell-checkers don't catch--correctly spelled words used inappropriately. The most problematic of these are homonyms, such as your/you're, its/it's, there/their/they're, whose/who's, two/to/too, etc. There are any number of lists of those around--here's one (http://www.cooper.com/alan/homonym_list.html). Also commonly confused words, like this (http://www.rinkworks.com/words/confused.shtml) or this (http://www.olc.edu/%7Ekhecrow/studyskills/List_of_Frequently_Confused_Words.htm). You can rely on a friend to proofread for now (if you have someone with the appropriate skills), but eventually you need to learn it yourself.

3. Also be aware that spell-checkers are useless for proper names. There are just too many variant spellings for the software to untangle which one is correct in any particular case. All you can do is proofread carefully. Of course, if you are writing about a real person or a real location, look it up first. If it's a fictional name, pick your preferred spelling and stick with it.

In the meantime, though, if you're really bothered by what others will think, put a note in front of your excerpt that says something like, "Sorry for the spelling problems. I'm working on that, but I may have missed a few." (That doesn't excuse total carelessness, though. Most of us can tell the difference quite easily.)

[IceCreamEmpress]

I guess my question is are the great writers on here going to rip me a new one because of this and be distracted from the story?

I am a nut on spelling (and grammar). I've got an oversensitive eye. And I've made things worse by working as a proofreader and copyeditor, so I notice every flaw and typo.

That said, if your novel is half as coherent as this post you've written right here, then whatever spelling or usage errors you may make aren't going to distract the reader at all.

Almost everyone who's hypersensitive to misspellings and errors in usage also respects people who are trying their best to communicate effectively. The thing that sends me, at least, off on a tirade is when people can't be bothered to do their own preliminary editing/spellchecking. That seems (again, just in my opinion) a bit disrespectful--it's kind of like going to someone's party unshowered and dressed in dirty clothes.

You're clearly spiffing yourself up for the party. That makes you complete awesomesauce in my book. If an error slipped through here or there, people might point it out in order to help. But ultimately, you're putting the effort in to give readers a piece that's as finished as you can make it at this stage--and that effort is almost certainly going to be respected.

[Judg]

What Empress said. Except I never would have thought of saying awesomesauce...

[joyce]

The hardest thing for me was posting some of my writing or query letter in SYW. I'd edited it a million times but still felt like everyone was going to tell me to go away and give up trying to write. I believe if you've edited it and put forth your best, everyone will see that and give you an honest critique. Just remember to thank those who help you out, even if you don't agree with everything they might say. This is a great place with people that have great knowlege(greater than mine) and are very helpful. Turn spell check on if you have it. Good luck and don't worry. From being on this forum I've found not everyone has a Masters Degree in English so don't worry, just keep writing and you will get better.

[GerriB]

From being on this forum I've found not everyone has a Masters Degree in English so don't worry, just keep writing and you will get better.

And even those of us who have those MA's in English still need spell check and to look up lie vs. lay and dive for the dictionary or thesaurus when necessary. I can tell you about suffixes (suffexes? SEE! *serves brain scrambled with a side of hashbrowns and toast*), but I still rely on my spell check more than I like.

Just please don't ask me about the time I sent out my novel with alter instead of altar.....

:cry:

:gone:

[David I]

2. Understand what spell-checkers don't catch--correctly spelled words used inappropriately. The most problematic of these are homonyms, such as your/you're, its/it's, there/their/they're, whose/who's, two/to/too, etc. There are any number of lists of those around--here's one (http://www.cooper.com/alan/homonym_list.html). Also commonly confused words, like this (http://www.rinkworks.com/words/confused.shtml) or this (http://www.olc.edu/%7Ekhecrow/studyskills/List_of_Frequently_Confused_Words.htm). You can rely on a friend to proofread for now (if you have someone with the appropriate skills), but eventually you need to learn it yourself.

Or, if you're a clumsy typist (like me), you'll find that there are words where if you transpose letters, you still have a legitimately spelled word. Just not the word you want. Look through any of my manuscripts and you'll find "form" where I meant "from" and "fro" (which doesn't look like a word until you remember 'to and fro') where I intended "for".

If you miss these, you don't look like a poor speller. You look as though you've lost your mind.

[johnzakour]

Note: if you are on a Mac it's very easy to get your computer to read your text back to you. This really helps cut down on using the wrong words and also missing words. I'm sure it can be done on the PC too.

[cmyk]

I regularly edit someone with dyslexia. But I can tell you everyone makes mistakes and needs editing. Even professional line editors when they start to write!

At first it was really painful for my friend, because every little error was not just an error, it was amplified by a lifetime of insults "you're stupid/you're not paying attention/why can't you do this?" crap echoing through his head. Then I showed him befores and afters of just how much editing the hot-shot writers took. And he was able to see the mistakes are just mistakes.

My friend and I now laugh our asses off during edits.

If you hand your work over and say, or write a note saying: "I know I'm a horrible speller. I'm kind of sensitive about it, and I'm working on it. I really, really appreciate you looking at this." I cannot imagine that anyone would be mean to you or think less of you. That's what spellcheck is FOR. And that is what the reading process is for.

I'm sure people here have discussed that every reader is different, every one has different strengths. You might give this early on to someone really detail oriented and ask them to just go through and read for misspellings. It might give you more confidence.

That's not to say that these things don't matter at all. The 60s are over. A little rough around the edges is one thing. But I get pitches and review copies every day (I'm NOT a book or long-form editor!) and if the errors or general weirdness get to a certain indefinable point, I lose confidence in the writer, or the person making the pitch on the writer's behalf. So by the time it gets that far down the line, it should be a thing of beauty.

Your willingness to accept the idea that you have room for improvement says good things about you. Just don't let it paralyze you. Writing is work. So keep working!

[johnzakour]

I find anal friends make great editors. It seems (at least in my case) some of the least creative people I know are some of the best editors. They instantly spot any "an" that should be "and" and any "to" that should be "too" and so on.