By DeAnna Cameron //
Is the cat gray or grey? Did he browse through a catalog or catalogue? Is she a presidential advisor or adviser?
Some writers cringe at the idea of having to choose between alternative spellings, occasionally recasting a sentence to avoid a questionable word for fear of choosing the wrong one. Other writers don’t care at all, as long as spell check doesn’t flag the word as misspelled.
Please, don’t be a writer who puts that much faith in spell check. Since these systems often recognize alternative spellings, a writer can easily end up with multiple versions of the same word in his or her manuscript. To some readers, that will look sloppy, and no one wants that.
Luckily, it’s a simple problem to fix because all you need is a dictionary. Don’t worry, you don’t need to lug around a big book. Just choose one online and bookmark it. I use Merriam-Webster (www.merriam-webster.com), but there are others.
When you’re writing and come across a word with multiple spellings, look it up. What you’ll usually find is a primary spelling with others noted as “variants” or “less common.” If you stick with the main spelling or the one noted as “more common,” you can be confident in your word choice.
But maybe you’re a spelling rebel and want to use a less common spelling for stylistic reasons. If you do, please be sure you at least make that choice consistently in your work.
Better yet, add the word to your Style Guide to help you remember your stylistic choices and to make it easier to share them with any future editors who work on your manuscript in the future. (If you aren’t familiar with Style Guides, I’ll discuss those next time.)
DEANNA CAMERON is the founder and managing director of O.C. Writers. She’s also a hybrid author currently writing YA dark fantasy as D.D. Croix and an occasional copy editor who’s never met an Oxford comma she didn’t like. Learn more at www.DDCroix.com.