It's happened to all of us at some point. You're "in the zone," typing away and giving your muse free rein, when suddenly you grind to a halt: you've come to a word with a special character in it, and you don't remember how to type it.
Even if you have a page of Alt codes bookmarked on your browser, you still end up having to rifle through an enormous list, page after page, of mysterious symbols you'll never have a use for. Wouldn't it be great to have a short list at your fingertips next time? Look no further. Here's a list of special characters I encounter most often in my own writing, in order of frequency. Feel free to take it and customize for your own use as you go.
— em dash Alt + 0151
– en dash Alt + 0150
… ellipsis Alt + 0133
á a (acute) Alt + 0225
é e (acute) Alt + 0233
í i (acute) Alt + 0237
ó o (acute) Alt + 0243
ú u (acute) Alt + 0250
ñ n (tilde) Alt + 0241
‘ single open Alt + 0145
’ single close Alt + 0146
“ double open Alt + 0147
” double close Alt + 0148
© copyright Alt + 0169
™ trademark Alt + 0153