//create a backup grid first

     
x is the starting row position, y is the starting col position that were picked randomly
letters is the character array that holds the letters of the current word

     
      //for each spot, check if it is null or has the letter 
      //we are looking for, if it does, put the letter there
      for(int i=0; i<letters.length; i++) {
         if(grid[x][y]=='\0' || grid[x][y]==letters[i]) {
            grid[x][y]=letters[i];

            x+=rowInc;
            y+=colInc;

            if(x<0) {
               x=rows-1;

            } else {
               x=x%rows;
            }

            if(y<0) {
               y=cols-1;

            } else {
               y=y%cols;
            }

         } else {

            //if it can't find a spot, copy the old grid back
            for(int j=0;j<grid.length; j++) {
               for(int k=0;k<grid[j].length;k++) {
                  grid[j][k]=grid2[j][k];
               }
            }

            wordInserted=false;
         }
      }