No lie: why we misuse lay

Dear Editor-on-call:I always have trouble with lay and lie. I've heard that people lie and objects lay but it always sounds odd to me to say,"I'm lying here" instead of "I'm laying...

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It's my party and I'll...

blog gushy nonsense if I want to! Because I'm another year older today and feeling thankful for so many things:~I get to send acceptance letters at work, spreading happiness to...

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Writing compelling characters

Today I'm participating in Elena's blog hop, in which a bunch of us share our take on a particular topic. I think the biggest challenge of today's topic was, for me, not trying...

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202 Cool Winners!

Thanks to everyone who entered my Too, oh too cool contest in honor of reaching a blogging milestone of 202 followers. You all posed fantastic "ask-the-editor" questions as part...

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Bad beginnings: the teaspoon problem

"Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have," said Hermione nastily, picking up her quill again.--J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order...

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Three chances to win!

My too, oh too cool prize drawing, in celebration of reaching a 202 follower milestone, is still open for entries. I'm offering three separate prizes to three lucky winners.All...

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Tempting titles

Dear Editor-on-call:What should I look for when choosing a title for a work?Sincerely,Untitled(aka Lana at Lana Phillips's blog)= = = =Dear Untitled:In a word? Flavor. Your working...

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If I were you

Dear Editor-on-Call:We were talking about "what if's" in my writing class last night and everyone would say things like "What if Narnia was real?" Based on my Spanish training,...

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Too, oh too cool contest

The happy day has arrived! In celebration of reaching 202 followers, I'm hosting a "Too, oh too cool" prize drawing that you, dear readers, helped design.I'll be giving away three...

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Expecto patronem: energizing memories

"The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the dementors feed upon--hope, happiness, the desire to survive....""How do you conjure it?" said...

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Fridge face

Jane opens Brenna’s fridge and sees neat rows of French mineral water, bins stuffed with fresh veggies, and hiding behind a row of organic condiments, a half-eaten shoo-fly pie.Who...

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Get together and miscellany

Attention greater Philly-area writer bloggers--a local get together will be happening soon. My CP Simon Larter and the lovely Frankie Diane Mallis of First Novels Club have been...

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Here it is

...the new look. A bit more energetic and less...um, blue. Not that I've lost the love for cool tones. I just fell kind of hard for this leaf image and customized the template...

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Freshen up

When I started up this blog over a year ago, I was going for a streamlined urban/nature look and customized one of Blogger's simpler templates. Today it just isn't doing it for...

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