Homophones Hurt Your Writing: He proved his Mettle and gets a Medal made of Metal, don't Meddle

Welcome to this edition of Words For Thought, the blog on wordrefiner.com. Like many of the previous blogs we are looking at homophones. Words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. 
I understand how important it is to have an error free manuscript. With over 40 years of experience, I have found that homophones give almost every writer fits and difficulties. Because we sound words out in our mind, it is easy to write the wrong word.
Let’s not forget typographical errors also, a slip of the finger on the keyboard can create a different word that may not be caught by a spell-checker. There are many groups of words that vary by only one letter, such as vary and very, or must, mist and most. Two of these words fit this criteria.
The correctly spelled word in the wrong context will not be flagged by most spell-checkers. Word Refiner is dedicated to uprooting all of these hidden errors and providing your document free of spelling errors that you want and deserve. I find invisible spelling errors in 95% of published books.

Now, onto today’s episode! Third in the series about Quadruple Homophones. High score!

​Four way homophones are few and far between. I am pleased to present another set.
​Medal​ is a disk made of ​Metal​ to signify or commemorate an achievement in a contest, or to commemorate a military campaign. Sometimes with a ribbon to wear around the neck or hang on clothing. 
​Metal is commonly a solid material made from refined ore dug from the earth. Gold, silver, and steel are very common forms of metal.
​Meddle​ refers to the act of undesirable interfering in something or someone's business. A busybody snoops on other peoples business.
​Mettle​ is a positive characteristic of a person. It refers to the ability to persist and overcome in difficult circumstances. 

There they are, four words with identical sounds.  If you use the wrong word the reader might think they hit an invisible pot hole while driving/reading and lose the reading momentum you worked so hard to build.  Use every tool available to prevent that from happening, do not give your readers a reason to not finish your story. Use Word Refiner, beta readers, critique partners, proofreaders and editors to ensure that your work is error free and as smooth as possible.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed this issue of Homophones Hurt Your Writing on Words For Thought.  Follow me on twitter: @wordrefiner, for more alerts about hazardous homophones search for  #HomophonesHurtYourWriting or #TyposHurtYourWriting on twitter.
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Quadruple homophones

Remember: Words Have Meaning and Spelling Makes a Difference.

I made this Medieval Knights helmet as a project in my third year as an apprentice sheet metal worker. Based on an authentic design. It is made of 16 gauge stainless steel (not authentic to the period, I know, but it wasn't my choice), three main pieces, and hand riveted. There is no welding or pop riveting. I spent 20 hours building it, 12 hours alone were needed for the riveting. The brass trim was an aesthetic choice to improve visual interest. 
​Copyright © 2015 Mark L Schultz 

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