Use a Spell Check!

The spell check is God’s gift to busy writers. They cover over a multitude of sins by holding your creation up to the private scrutiny of a digital dictionary. Use it religiously, or face the possibility that you, the aspiring writer, may look unprofessional.

That said, two important caveats:

1) Not all spell checks are created equal.

This author thinks that the best spell check ever created –the spell check that he is using to produce this guide—is Microsoft Word 2000 (or subsequent versions). He could be wrong but, because of so many little cool features (like instant correction), he doubts it. Because you are human, the likelihood that your prose will not contain spelling errors is slim. Find a good spell check and reduce your chances of rejection.

2) A spell check is not a silver bullet, killing all bad spelling and sloppy prose.

Realize that a spell check is nothing more than a fancy digital dictionary. It has no brain, only programming. You must provide the intelligence.

To illustrate the point, a snatch from a poem by James Knisley should suffice,

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea…

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

Which leads us to homonyms.

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