Misused Words

Good morning. Welcome to wwwblogs. Today, we’re talking about misused words, otherwise known as homophones. I’ve talked extensively on this subject in this blog, but recently I ran across some words that are being misused; words I’d never seen misused in the past.
Imagine my surprise when I opened a submission, as part of my job as an editor in chief, and saw (in the first sentence yet!) that the author had his main character applying the breaks.
Groan. I did not just see that. Please tell me that an educated person, whose books usually need little to no editing didn’t make that newbie mistake. So, I closed my eyes, rubbed them a little, and peeked again.
Uh, yup. That word break was still in the spot where brake should have been. Big as day, and screaming at me to tell the author to please double check the meanings of certain words.That wasn’t the only author to make an oopsie with homophones that day. Two other authors made equally embarrassing mistakes with homophones. One using heel in a sentence where the individual was heeled of their injuries. The other one was just as bad, where a man steels an object.
Let’s break these three new problematic homophones down, to the questions you should ask when using them.
Break: the item is unusable as it is designed to be used. Example: My pencil broke in the middle of a math test. Don’t break the window by throwing a ball at it.
Brake: a device that is used to stop a vehicle. Example: I slammed on the brakes. My left front brake needs replacing.
Heel: a part of the foot. Example: She slammed her heel against the wall behind her. His heel ached from having his socks bunched under it.
Heal: means to recover from an illness or injury. Example: After months of treatment, she was finally healed with a simple solution of avoiding certain foods. His finger showed no signs of healing after he cut it deeply.
Steel: a strong metal. The steel industry nearly collapsed many years ago. We need steel beams to support this building.
Steal: to take an item that belongs to someone else. Example: Someone stole my bike. The criminals entered the building with the intent of stealing all the cash.
One of the things we as authors must do is ensure that we aren’t using the wrong word. That is why it’s so important to have another set of eyes look at our work, to pick out problems like this.


About K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.

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