I was writing a short piece in Microsoft Word and a squiggly line appeared. I knew the word was spelled correctly but Microsoft was telling me otherwise. I quickly realized Word was trying to make my character American. No! Word, my character is British and his vocabulary shan’t be spelt differently.

So what type of spelling should you choose? Well, if you do not have a specific style guide that specifies what you should be using, I recommend knowing your audience and staying consistent. If your audience is mainly American, you may come off trite if you are using the British spelling; or, if you are looking to write for a broader community of people than I recommend using the UK spelling. Whatever you choose to use, it’s best to stay consistent.

Top 15 of my Favorite Vs. Spellings

UK to US

• Aluminium → Aluminum
• Artefact → Artifact
• Colour →…