Syrup, Anyone?

One thing I always tell budding writers, both in my classes at school and in my role as a mentor:

Know the basics.

You cannot escape punctuation and grammar. Simple mistakes in these areas will mark you as an amateur and will probably land you in the trash pile.

I recently found an example of a time when I learned the importance of good spelling.

I cleaned out my old house when we moved to our current one a couple of years ago and stacked up some picture frames in a small nook (or was it a cranny? Not sure.). One of those frames featured multiple “openings” to display different pictures. When I moved it the other day, some of the pictures slipped out of place, and I noticed there was a document underneath the photos. Upon further inspection, I realized it was a certificate from my school days:

Jenkins Middle/High School Spelling Bee, Finalist: Carlton Hughes

It also had a date, which I won’t reveal on the grounds that I am very old and yet don’t want you to think I’m older than I really am.

ANYWAY, my mind drifted back . . . A LOT of years to that fateful night. I made it through several rounds, taking out fellow students from various grades, and was one of three contestants in the finals. It was a big deal! I had always prided myself on being a good speller, making A’s on every spelling test. You might say I was born for this moment. Being the BMOC 7^th grader I was, I felt confident going into that last round—nervous but confident.

(NOTE: when I say I was a BMOC (big man on campus), I mean I was big in terms of WEIGHT and HEIGHT, not in COOLNESS.)

I was called to the podium, and the announcer gave me my word. I still remember to this day, after . . . A LOT of years.

“Carlton, your word is  . . . syrup.”

A-ha! Here’s a familiar word. At the time, I had waffles or pancakes for breakfast five or six days a week.

The happy ending would have been that I spelled the word correctly, placed first, won some money, and moved on to regional competition. My mother would maybe even make me my favorite homemade pancakes to celebrate, which I would drown in . . . you got it . . . SYRUP.

Instead, my answer went something like this: “Syrup . . . S-R-Y-U-P.”

Cue the loser sound effect. WAH WAH.

I was crushed. My mother came up to me afterwards and said, “you eat syrup nearly everyday for breakfast!” Yes, I knew that–didn’t know the spelling but knew about my morning food choices.

Good spelling is an important part of good writing; readers should be able to follow our plots and our flow without being distracted by a misspelled word. Personally, I tend to notice typos, grammar issues, and misspellings in books and in other publications, and it often draws me away from the story.

My ultimate advice: learn how to spell, and, when it doubt, look it up or leave it out. Now, pass the SYRUP.

Carlton Hughes, represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary, wears many hats. By day, he is a professor of communication. On Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, he serves as a children’s pastor. In his “spare time,” he is a freelance writer. Carlton is an empty-nesting dad and devoted husband who likes long walks on the beach, old sitcoms, and chocolate—all the chocolate. His work has been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dating Game, The Wonders of Nature, Let the Earth Rejoice, Just Breathe, So God Made a Dog, and Everyday Grace for Men. His latest book is Adventures in Fatherhood, co-authored with Holland Webb.