Wordsmith Wednesday: Who Needs Two Spell Rite?

Wordsmith Wednesday is a running series which features some our favorite things: Words! My wonderful friend Chi, AKA Elizabeth Isaacs, started this with the hope that writers and readers would take something useful away. I personally love it because I'm a nerd, but I struggle with certain things just like everyone else. It's nice for me to have a reminder.


Spelling--the order of the day.

Good spelling is imperative, yet more often than not, it's one of the most difficult things to nail down. Poor spelling, however, makes us seem less intelligent than we really are...or in my case, want to be perceived ;) Thankfully, on one hand, we have spell check on our computers and auto-correct on our phones. While I'm as guilty as the next person for a good deal of misspellings, I can't help but wonder if all the backup we get from technology isn't a bad thing. **Remember, just because spell-check didn't highlight something, doesn't make it right!

When I type, and Word auto-corrects my ignorance, I never see that I spelled it the wrong way to begin with. Since Word is so gracious as to allow me to skip over my idiocy, I'm going to address it myself with a few of the words I struggle to spell correctly.

Rhythym: Even now, I didn't spell it the correct way. It's actually r-h-y-t-h-m. I never get this one right, and I try so hard. I know there's a Y in there, but the placement always throws me.

Separate: Two A's, one E. I often see this spelled s-e-p-e-r-a-t-e because that's how we pronounce it. We can thank the funky and inconsistent English language for that one.

Succeed, Committed, Embarrass, Recommend: And ALL those random, two letter words. I know they're frustrating to learn. I hate not having my auto-correct crutch to lean on for the few occasions I have to hand write these. Believe me, I keep a dictionary around at all times for this reason.

Judgment: This one is just off for me. There should be two E's in my opinion, yet there aren't. Who gets to decide this stuff?

Guarantee and Restaurant: After rhythm, these two are the biggest thorns in my side. Something about that random U just knocks me off kilter. In my head, I've learned to say them like they're spelled. My head is a interesting, and oftentimes unintelligible, place to be. I do find that saying the words to yourself the way they sound helps.

Fact Monster has a nice Word Wise section with tips and saying to keep things straight. Tip #8 follows my whole, say-the-word-like-it-sounds idea. In this case though, you can say them out loud ;)

**Side note, certain words and their spellings vary by style guide and country. I just thought I'd throw that in there since spelling is so easy to begin with ;)

Wordsmith Wednesday: Am I Happy About This?

I love words. All words. Even the words I don't like, I do -- which is one of the reasons I became a writer. I also love the smell of bleach, but that's neither here nor there. Even as kid, I was the little introvert who sat in the corner, perusing the dictionary or medical journals, because knowing words like "miscreant" or "Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency" is as good as speaking Icelandic when you're eleven.

So, when my wonderful friend (and personal Yoda) Chi suggested a fun new meme, I jumped on board. And Wordsmith Wednesday was born. See here for more details.

Each Wednesday, we'll select a few words which are often misused or misunderstood. The power of words is a wonderful thing, but losing that power can be devastating when you're trying to get your point across. So, the whole idea behind Wordsmith Wednesday, is to allow people to share some of their favorite (or not-so-favorite) words and explain the differences in the way we see them or what they mean.

I'm as guilty as the next person when it comes to misapplying a meaning to a word, so I want to try and clarify my opinion. Here are a few I often see writers using interchangeably. While some may disagree, these are my thoughts.

Anxious
Anxious implies nervousness. While there may be a hint of excitement residing there, the primary emotion behind being anxious isn't a positive one. A doctor may have bad news to deliver to a family. She's experiencing dread at the thought of their reaction and having to be the one to share it. While she may want to simply get it over with, there's nothing good about her feelings.

Eager
Eager denotes a good mixture of nervousness and excitement. A new writer is expecting to hear back about a book deal. He is waiting on pins and needles, hopeful the response is a positive one, but hesitant that it might not be. Eager has the best of both worlds.

Excited
The definition of excited is: stirred emotionally; agitated. This is possibly the most wrongly used of them all, and I'm as guilty as the next. For me, excitement is simply that -- I'm happy to experience the thing I'm living through or expecting. There's no negative connotation at all. However, the dictionary would disagree with me. The original intent behind the word denotes having one's feathers ruffled, though honestly, I don't see anyone reworking this word to fit its archaic definition again any time soon.

Now you know, all three words have a similar tenor but each a different emotion. What are a few misused words you guys come across?