Wordworking: K is for Keeping it Real with Janeal Falor

Our second guest post of the A to Z challenge is here. *launches confetti canons* I met Janeal Falor on twitter last August and she's one of the nicest gals on the planet. Plus, she can look at a half empty refrigerator and make a deluxe meal while she's writing. I can't wait to read her book YOU ARE MINE coming out May 6th.

Take it away, Janeal.

Thank you for having me here today, Robin!

 Today we're talking about Keepin' it Real. Even though I'm an author, the biggest reality is that I'm a terrible speller. When I was in elementary school spelling was my least favorite subject. I hated it with a passion. I could never get the right letters in the right places. And practicing—please smash my fingers in the door instead of making me relive those memories. Then there were kids in my class who'd get 100% without even trying. Disgustingly good spellers. Over the years, I've come to not only accept my poor spelling, but try and find the good in it. One of my favorite misspelled words that I'm forever typing is: Rommance. (and yes, I know that's probably bad grammar from Robin's awesome Colon Post, but I'm going for dramatic effect here). Any guesses why it's my favorite? I'll give you a hint, it has to do with how I feel about the word. Figured it out? Rommance is just so mmmmm, yummy! Which is why I always write rommances into my books. Sometimes I read a book without a love interest, but the only books I have a true passion for are rommances. This misspelling is one I think should become the correct spelling. Since it never will be, thankfully it's easily caught by spell checker. But I'm forever turning cheek into check and except into expect. Lame word issues that can't be caught by the computer. Two things really help me to catch these.

• Search specifically for tricky spellings and nothing else. Looking for nothing but tricky words makes them a little easier to find. Notice I didn't say easy, but easier. And the more you do this, the better you'll get at it.

• Help from others. Because I can't always see what my crazy fingers are typing in my own writing, I rely on others to help me find those sneaky hiders. Once I know what they are, I keep and extra close eye out for that problem and am able to find and correct them more often that not.

And while we're keepin' it real, yes, there was a bunch of grammar/spelling errors I hunted down in this. Probably still a few hiding in there. ;-) Do you have problems spelling any particular words or are you naturally a great speller? What do you think about mmmmm, yummy romances? How do you 'Keep things Real' with spelling?

Janeal Falor lives in Utah where she’s finally managed to live in the same house for more than five years. In her spare time she reads books like they’re nuts covered in caramel and chocolate, cooks whatever strikes her fancy, and enjoys the outdoors. Her husband and three children try to keep up with her overactive imagination. Usually they settle for having dinner on the table, even if she’s still going on about the voices in her head. Her debut YA Fantasy, YOU ARE MINE comes out May 6, 2013.