Sunny side

I'm supposed to be cleaning my house right now (shhh!!), but thought I ought to not fall behind with acknowledging blog awards. And hey, I did find the bottom of my daughter's...

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Abra-cadabra: sleight of hand in fiction

Narrative misdirection is a writerly trick of establishing false expectations in your readers, directing their attention to the wrong information and causing them to ignore correct...

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Whoops! Blogfest

Celebrate 2.22 with too, too, too embarrassing gaffes and blunders. The Whoops! BlogfestTo learn more and sign up, CLICK H...

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Whoops! Fest request and a poll

A HUGE thanks to all the participants in the Whoops! Blogfest. You all made it awesomely fun! When you get a moment, please let me know where you heard about it. Just drop me...

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Eleventy-one sample scene

For the Laurel's Leaves Eleventy-one writing contest, you must submit a piece of original fiction, up to 700 words. Your scene or story must be dialogue-driven and show an instance...

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Eleventy one

I've made so many lovely new friends through the Whoops! Blogfest, it appears I'm about to hit a blog milestone, the first 100 followers.What is it about 100? It's really such...

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Whoops! Blogfest coming 2.22

Too, too, too embarrassing!Too, too, too humiliating!Too, too, too snarf-worthily stupid!Celebrate 2.22 with a festival of gaffes and blunders.The Whoops! BlogfestIn the tradition...

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Too, too, too embarrassing! Whoops! blogfest

Thanks to everyone participating in today's blogfest! I can't wait to pop round to see all your wacky gaffes, bodacious blunders and excruciating embarrassments.Here's my offering...

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Time is running out, sign up today!

We're just days away from some serious fun, but only if you help to make it happen. On Monday, I'll be hosting the Whoops! Blogfest, a festival of gaffes, blunders and embarrassing...

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The serious business of folly

Is it OK to laugh during Lent? It's a question I wrestled with when I first got the idea to host a humor-themed blogfest.I'm new to observing Lent; the church I now attend, a...

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Fat and happy

What better day than Mardi Gras to belatedly acknowledge and pass along the Happy 101 award? My sassy cyber sister Rhonda at Snarktastic Ramblings gave me this lovely honor almost...

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Love at first sight

Thanks to our lovely host Courtney for today's blogfest on the writing prompt "love at first sight."My offering is written from the point of view of the male love interest from...

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Festival season

I'm getting very excited for the THREE upcoming blogfests.Love at First Sight Blogfest, hosted by Courtney Reese on February 14So-Long Blogfest, hosted by Karen at Novels During...

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Pitfalls of autobiographical writing, part 3

I'm once again picking up my "why I don't write autobiographically" series. (I gave you fair warning it wouldn't be sequential!) My earlier posts in the series include:Pitfalls...

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"What d'ya think? Huh? Huh?": Basic crit questions

As I mentioned in this post about my process so far with gathering critiques, I thought I'd share the set of questions I gave to my beta readers, the group that looked at my cleaned-up...

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Experimentation

So, I'm testing to see if the "sticky post" advice I found online actually works. I'd like the Whoops! Blogfest information to stay evergreen, at least until the day of the festival....

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Warping time

Flashbacks. They're a common tool we use, particularly in the middle of a book, to flesh out characters and add dimension to current plot events.My current headache of the moment...

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Characterization: Birth order

For many characters, motivations are driven by family of origin issues. This includes far more than one's relationship with parents. Sibling relationships and one's place in the...

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