diff --git a/src/spell.c b/src/spell.c
index 4807fff963..058f7d68c4 100644
--- a/src/spell.c
+++ b/src/spell.c
@@ -8112,7 +8112,8 @@ write_vim_spell(spin, fname)
 		p = rr == 1 ? ftp->ft_from : ftp->ft_to;
 		l = (int)STRLEN(p);
 		putc(l, fd);
-		fwv &= fwrite(p, l, (size_t)1, fd);
+		if (l > 0)
+		    fwv &= fwrite(p, l, (size_t)1, fd);
 	    }
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/version.c b/src/version.c
index 8b6c0210aa..bba1c7c6e6 100644
--- a/src/version.c
+++ b/src/version.c
@@ -676,6 +676,8 @@ static char *(features[]) =
 
 static int included_patches[] =
 {   /* Add new patch number below this line */
+/**/
+    56,
 /**/
     55,
 /**/