A question! (or two!)

[desperance]

So if you were taking dictation of a story set on shipboard and the phrase read out was "Let go of the gunnel," would you write "gunnel" or would you write "gunwale"?

And if the story's author had used first "gunwale" and then, a few pages later, "gunnel", would you heap scorn and contumely upon his head for inconsistency? And would it make any difference if the first were in narration and the second in dialogue?

Comments

[spaceoperadiva]

If it were randomly switching in straight narration, I'd feel mildly annoyed, as if the writer couldn't decide what voice they were going for. If it were "gunwale" in narration and "gunnel" in dialogue, I wouldn't even blink. I also wouldn't blink if one character said "gunwale" in dialogue and another "gunnel". Because we all don't have the same dialect, education, speaking style, etc.

[movingfinger]

Use either, just be consistent.