Spelling & writing

Words people misspell, homophones, American and British spelling, and prompts for playful writing.

• American and British spelling: the patterns behind color and colour

  The handful of patterns that explain most differences between American and British spelling (-or/-our, -er/-re, -ize/-ise, doubled l, -ense/-ence), where they came from, and how to stay consistent.

• Commonly misspelled English words, and the tricks that fix them for good

  Why words like accommodate, separate, definitely and necessary keep getting misspelled, grouped by the kind of trap they set, with memory aids that actually work.

• Homophones and real-word errors: the mistakes spell checkers miss

  Why a spell checker cannot catch their/there/they're or affect/effect, the confusable pairs that matter most, quick tests to choose the right one, and how to proofread for them.

• Where magnetic poetry comes from: hats, scissors and fridge doors

  The story behind magnetic poetry, from Tristan Tzara's 1920 recipe for a Dada poem and the Surrealists' exquisite corpse to Burroughs and Gysin's cut-ups and the 1993 fridge kit, plus what it means for your own writing.

• Writing prompts and constraints for word tiles and magnetic poetry

  Twenty-four original prompts and Oulipo-style constraints to use with magnetic poetry tiles, from one-minute warm-ups to lipograms and N+7, for writers, classrooms and families.