Differentiating between “written” and “writing”

Question

For some reason it is written and writing. It's confusing to me.

How can I remember to write them differently?

Answer 1

Writing is the right word; writting is the misspelling of writing.

Look at the pattern:

• Write – pronounced rIt (i is long) – single t.
  
• Writer – pronounced rIt-u(r) (i is long) – single t.
  
• Writing – pronounced rIt-ing (i is long) – single t.
  
• Written – pronounced ri-t(u)n (i is short) – double t.
  

Answer 2

Google is not "unsure" about it; read the results of both:

http://www.google.com/search?q=writting returns 7 million results, with the top results including "Writting is a shockingly common misspelling of 'writing'", "English teachers dread to see ...". Most other results are amateur poetry or spam sites. Google also asks "Did you mean: 'writing'?"

http://www.google.com/search?q=writing returns over 30 times as many results, with top hits references to authors and publications.

When Google (or any web search) turns up results, you have to actually read them to see if it's what you want. Spelling is no different.

Answer 3

If you follow the Common Errors in English Usage, it is "writing":

One of the comments English teachers dread to see on their evaluations is “The professor really helped me improve my writting.”

When “-ing” is added to a word which ends in a short vowel followed only by a single consonant, that consonant is normally doubled, but “write” has a silent E on the end to ensure the long I sound in the word. Doubling the T in this case would make the word rhyme with “flitting.”

Answer 4

The present participle of the verb to write is writing (pronounced |ˈrīti ng | in American English), while the past participle is written (pronounced |ˈritn| in American English). Examples:

• I am writing an essay.
• I have written the essay.
• I have finished writing it.
• It is written...