No matter how familiar you are with the style guide of your choice, something’s always going to come along that’ll leave you stumped. Language is such a fluid, malleable thing that even the most thorough guide can’t cover all contingencies.
When I’m working on a manuscript and I’m in the “zone”, I don’t want to stop to look things up. I’ll usually highlight the questionable text and make a blank comment in the margin for it, so that I can find it again later. At some point, though, later arrives, and all the things I’ve passed over have to be dealt with.
Sometimes, finding the right search terms can be as difficult as finding your answer. Be patient, and be flexible. Think about a few different possibilities, a few different paths to your problem. If you’re not certain whether the name of a vehicle should be in italics, try looking up rules for ship names, rules for proper nouns, and rules for italics. As you get more used to using a particular index, you’ll grow more familiar with the way it categorizes things, and in time your searches will be more effective. If something provides too many results, try narrowing your search or using less common synonyms. For example, looking up anything to do with “the” in a search engine is nearly impossible. Try “definite articles” instead.
In this electronic age, help is at your fingertips. Cultivate and collect your resources, and use them. Remember that others are more likely to help those who help themselves. Do try to look a problem up on your own before requesting the aid of others. As helpful as your online colleagues and forum-mates are, they’ve got work of their own to do and they’re helping out of kindness. No one wants to feel like they’re doing someone else’s homework for them.
Consider the source of your advice when you receive it, before you decide whether to follow it. If someone cites their own source or reasoning, all the better. Otherwise, do still use your own judgment. Don’t let a suggestion override your education or common sense just because it comes from a member of a professional organization or someone who has impressive letters after their name. In a best case scenario you’ll learn where the answer was found, so that your own research can be more productive in the future.
Some resources for writing/editing might include:
The Chicago Manual of Style Online Q&A (see link in the sidebar)
Writers’ forums
Editors’ forums
Livejournal communities
Your own friends or professional peers
I think that we all want to maintain an edge of infallibility, editors especially. We know all the rules, we know how to apply them. We know how to look up the things we know, and the things we don’t know. We can catch every slip and correct every mistake. Really, though, no one in any field has every single answer at hand all the time.
When in doubt… ask.
Consider the source you’re asking. Apply critical thinking to the answer. But ask. That’s what professional resources are for. No one will think less of you for asking.
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