Lyla Campbell

On my way back from dinner tonight, this delicious bit of irony hit me: I'm a writer who couldn't spell to save her life. When I was younger spelling, and grammer for that matter elluded me. My performance in the 4th grade spelling bee had my teacher so concerned that he waited with me after school to talk to my mother. Basically, he felt someone in the gifted and talented program shouldn't "suck" so much at spelling. Of course the way he put it to my mom was much kinder than that.

While I've gotten better with the grammer bit, my spelling skills have remained pretty much static. I will be eternally gratefull to whoever invented spell check. Without it, my writing would read like a foreign language.

So am I the only writer out there who can't spell? Hopefully, I'm not alone.
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7 Responses
  1. Nope. I too can not spell to save my life. Thank goodness for thesaurus.com

    ann


  2. Jennifer Says:

    No worries. It's all in finding a good editrix. You can be the sparkling creative genius and I'll be the nerd in the back room with a red pencil.


  3. I like your blog.

    Gave your blog a "lovely blog award." See my site for more details.

    ann


  4. Julie S Says:

    Spelling is hard. But yes, spellcheck, best invention!


  5. Anonymous Says:

    I can type like a madman, but spelling, well, its okay but could use work. It, it's, who, whome, itc. These are the areas that really give me trouble. Good thing I have editors and proof readers.

    Stephen Tremp


  6. DK Says:

    Oh no, I think writing is defenitely NOT about spelling... Love the drawing!


  7. I've pretty much always bin a good speller.

    As a writer, to be a pour speller is to be clumsy with a key fool of my tirade.

    Anyone whom relies on a spell checker are courting disaster.

    Quick tip: type a suspect word in a Giggle search box and the correct spelling will be suggested. Better tip: invest in and hews a good dictionary; preferably an encyclopedic dictionary. As a writer, I consider a good dictionary, well-thumbed and loaded with Post-its to be a mandatory peace of equipment. If money is tight (or if, like with me, money is available, but YOU are tight), buy 'used' online. All the words are still there.

    Have no fear, even with impeccable spelling, there will be plenty of opportunity for humiliation.


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