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For a number of reasons authors may choose to write a number of articles quickly, yet this runs the risk of excessive typos. If you’re a bit obsessive-compulsive, you’ll find the experience frustrating. Of course, spell-check is the obvious answer, but spell-check does not pick up many misspelled words.

 

Here are 7 tips to better spelling and fewer typos:

1. Improve your own spelling skills. If you think this is hopeless, then make a list of words you misspell frequently, and keep them in a handy notebook or computer file. Is it embarassing or embarrassing? Or embarrasing? Put the correct spelling on a list for quick reference. You may want to buy a spelling reference as well, and refresh your memory regarding basic spelling skills. (Remember “i after e, except after c, or when sounded as a, as in neighbor or weigh”?)

2. Type your articles in a word processor then paste to the internet. Your word processor can be set to correct your spelling as you go, or alert you to questionable spellings. Seeing your words in a different font with different spacings helps as well, so your eye doesn’t skip past familiar phrases or words.

3. Be aware of common words used incorrectly. As you’re composing in your mind, words that sound the same may end up being typed incorrectly, and spell-check will miss this. Pay close attention to their and they’re, your and you’re, you and your, your and yours, right and write, bare and bear, peak and peek, brake and break.

4. Don’t submit your articles immediately. Before submitting an article, write another perhaps, then go back later and re-read the first, when you’re not so close to the material you’ve written. Your eye is much more likely to catch an obvious error. Re-read your articles at least twice, preferably in different settings. Also, watch out for duplicate letters such as i and l – they’re hard to see, therefore easily missed. I just had to correct ‘settiings’ myself.

5. Take a break periodically. The mind becomes numb to errors when you write too long. You may be able to compose more efficiently if you take a 5-10 minute break between articles.

6. Improve your typing skills. Touch-typing is surely the fastest way to compose, and may be learned with conscientious effort. In as little as a few months you can improve from 20 wpm (words per minute) to at least 50. Make yourself type correctly. Slower practice with fewer errors will eventually lead to faster, accurate typing. Sloppy typing will lead to sloppy spelling.

7. Write about what you know. If you’re always having to look things up, more errors will creep in. Don’t use words you aren’t sure of – this will inevitably slow you down and lead to mistakes.

The above is what I do to write articles quickly. If I don’t have to research what I’m writing, a 400 word article may be completed in 30-40 minutes. That’s only 10-15 words per minute, allowing a little time to think between words. I type in spurts, finishing one thought, then pausing until the next is formed in my mind. I try to have at least an entire phrase in my mind before I begin typing a sentence, so I don’t have to go back and correct words. It also allows more flexibility to change your mind without having to go back and correct something. 

Copyright 2010 Cynthia J. Koelker, M.D.

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It wasn’t until after I’d completed my novel that I heard that a first novel is always autobiographical.

Not mine, I thought vainly. Of course, I’d written the book after suffering a loss, just like the main character. That much I would admit, no more. But now that I’m less sensitive about my writing, I can see how things really are: my life is plastered all over that story. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, perhaps just inevitable. More importantly, it’s valuable information you can use to write your own story.

Here are 5 autobiographical ‘P’s to consider when writing:

1. Premise. Why write a book at all? Certainly it must be about something in which you have a personal interest – a particular situation, or problem, or something that’s captured your imagination, not just that of your characters. Have you identified what it is?

2. People. From the beginning my main character was a reflection of myself, how I might react in certain situations, how I wanted to explain life. Not until later did I see that I was a large part of every character in my story, even those I’d based on other people. After pondering it off and on over several months, I realized that I was everybody. When they spoke, it was what I would say – or what I thought my characters would say. When they reacted to a situation, it was how I would react, or how I thought they would react. Writing as an individual, this may be inescapable, but it’s at least something of which a writer should be aware.

3. Pain. Every book deals with some sort of problem, some degree of pain. Is your story to explain how you dealt with a difficult problem, or your way of working through a deep-seated pain? Is it about how you wished you would have reacted, or perhaps the tale of someone you’ve admired? Whether your recognize it or not, your writing reflects your personal life.

4. Plot. Since you’re the one writing the book, the story can’t help but be about what you would do or about what you think others would do. There’s no way around it. You only have your own brain to think with, and your thoughts are what will come through in your writing.

5. Place. Though you set your story on the moon, your description and vision will be what you see, even if through your characters eyes. And what you see consists of details, colors, images, that you hope to convey to your readers. Look closely to allow your readers to see your world more clearly.If you’ve already completed your manuscript, think back on how your own life lives in your story. It may help you in the re-writing process or in your next writing project. If you are in the process of writing or about to begin, consider how you can use these elements effectively to bring your own story to life.

If you’ve already completed your manuscript, think back on how your own life lives in your story. It may help you in the re-writing process or in your next writing project. If you are in the process of writing or about to begin, consider how you can use these elements effectively to bring your own story to life.

Copyright © 2010 Cynthia J. Koelker, MD