Words sound the same...

...but are spelled differently. The elusive homonym.

I work with some really intelligent writers, and like all humans, are susceptible to errors in spelling and grammar. When a person corrects such grammar, you’d think that the writer’s would take note and learn from the lesson! Some never learn and keep on making the same simple mistakes over and over.

Take fore example:

Advise - [ad-vahyz] - to give counsel to
Advice - [ad-vice] -  an opinion or recommendation offered

wander - [wahn-der] - to go aimlessly,
wonder -  [wuhn-der] - to think or speculate curiously:

than - (used, as after comparative adjectives and adverbs, to introduce the second member of an unequal comparison): She's taller than I am.
then - at that time: Prices were lower then.

write - to express or communicate in writing; give a written account of.
right - in accordance with what is good, proper, or just: right conduct.
rite - a particular form or system of religious or other ceremonial practice: the Roman rite.

break - to smash, split, or divide into parts violently; reduce to pieces or fragments:

brake - anything that has a slowing or stopping effect.

to - expressing destination
too - in addition; also; furthermore;
two - a cardinal number, 1 plus 1.

loose - free or released from fastening or attachment: a loose end.
lose -  to suffer the deprivation of: to lose one's job; to lose one's life.

This is just a simple list. You know there is someone who actually collects these words, for fun? http://www.crazysquirrel.com/stuff/same-sound.jspx

I’d say she is a crazy squirrel, but she beat me to it. :)

Wanna add more confusion?
Are they homonyms - a word the same as another in sound and spelling but different in meaning, as chase “to pursue” and chase “to ornament metal.”

or homophones? Phonetics -  a word pronounced the same as another but differing in meaning, whether spelled the same way or not, as heir and air.

Some of these words are not even spelled the same and they confuse me. What I’m getting at is this; we as writer’s need to check our spelling and wording before you click post/submit and post it as a professional piece of work for your writing friends to see. Do your homework, don’t let everyone do it for you.

Grammar Slammer

Grammar and Punctuation is the ROOT of your writing!

As much as I hate punctuation, it is an important part of the writing process. In workshops, people tend to become lazy in checking for grammatical errors or spelling errors, thinking that the reader knows that they are either typos or just minimal errors.

When you become so comfortable in one environment, you tend to overlook things. It isn’t consciously done, usually it is unconsciously done because you’re all snug and comfy with your writing friends.

I’m not saying I don’t make typos, everyone makes typos. But when you want people to take you seriously as a writer, the first thing you need to do is put your best word forward, check and re-check and give them a story on a silver platter.

I’m making errors in punctuation all of the time. So what can I do to remedy it? I am studying grammar like a child who first learns how to walk. The child is eager as he crawls over to the table, then he grabs the table and pulls himself up.

This is what writers need to do, they need to make mistakes in the crawling stages so they can learn to walk and become writers of a strong caliber. The crawling stages were in school! In GRADE school. In high school you mastered grammar and punctuation and walked through the graduation ceremony with your head held high knowing that you did your best in achieving your goal.

Sometimes as years pass and we lose sight of our grammar and punctuation skills we need a refresher course. This is not an embarrassing situation because the time lapse between high school and when you’ve decided to become a serious writer (maybe)has laid you up for a few years in between.

When joining a writer’s workshop, this would be the perfect time for your refresher course. You want to present to the world your work, bring it to the reading public like a professional and display it in the best light possible.

I see so many people ignoring rules and guidelines because this is "just a workshop" and it isn’t a "serious submission." I like to say, "WHAT?" This is your peer’s and they are the ones who are going to point out every wrong you’ve made in your story.

Even well published author’s need editors to "fix" their work, but they have followed all of the guidelines, sent in the EXACT word count, followed the directions to the tee, and this is why editor’s are accepting what they’ve sent. They’re willing to work with the writer, but they are NOT willing to rewrite, check for hundreds of spelling errors, and punctuation faux pas.

Usually the editor takes one glance sees the first and second, okay, THIRD error? And well, all your hard work gets tossed in the bin! The best advice I can give is to check your work before clicking that "post" or "submit" button.

Isn’t your work worth more than a trash bin? Shouldn’t you try your best for your peers BEFORE sending it off to an editor?

Rule of thumb: Check, re-check, (DO NOT DEPEND ON MS TO SPELL CHECK FOR YOU) remember WORD COUNT as a habit! And most importantly: DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

G,P,S

Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling

In a recent blog tour I had the pleasure of asking the author of The President’s Parasite, Jim Musgrave if there were any "secrets" that the newcomer to writing should know. "Learn your basics first, meaning grammar, punctuation and spelling." he offered.

And the second best kept secret, which I’m sure isn’t a secret to my fellow writing friends because I’ve said this over and over again, get a good manual of "technique". His suggestion? Telling Lies for Fun and Profit by Lawrence Block. Great advice!

I’ve given you blogs on Style, Theme, Ego, Inspiration, and even a blog titled Writer’s block. Today’s blog, I’d like to offer up to you the importance of Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling.

Many of us have learned our grammar techniques in grade school and more than likely we’ve become rusty over the years. Do you really remember was a present participle is? Did you ever think that later in life you would NEED to know?
The definition of the word grammar is interesting:
1.
a. The study of how words and their component parts combine to form sentences.
The study of structural relationships in language or in a language, sometimes including pronunciation, meaning, and linguistic history.
2.
The system of inflections, syntax, and word formation of a language.
The system of rules implicit in a language, viewed as a mechanism for generating all sentences possible in that language.
3.
a. A normative or prescriptive set of rules setting forth the current standard of usage for pedagogical or reference purposes.
b. Writing or speech judged with regard to such a set of rules.

This ties in the punctuation and spelling because we can not have one without the other. Notice how simple letters form words, we write our words and they are going to form sentences (hopefully logical ones.) We’ll need to add the proper punctuation and to finish it off we need to proofread what we’ve written to see if we have any typographical errors.

I know a lot of people depend on their MS Word for a spell check but it being a program and not human, the robotic nature will not pick up the differences in there and their. It will not discern by from buy. It will give you a red squiggly line for incorrect spellings and your eyes may be drawn to THAT. In the process you may miss an error and let it slip through your eyes. MS Word will not find errors in punctuation for you either. YOU need to do the work to make it comprehensible and legible to your reader.

The best thing to do as a writer is to get in the habit of proofreading your work BEFORE you click that little word, SEND. Know the rules, know the proper etiquette and by all means STUDY what you don’t know.