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Pet Writing Peeves: Adverbs
Adverbs top the list of my Pet Writing Peeves. These little words modify actions and usually end in -ly. They’re perfectly acceptable in lots of different situations, but should be used sparingly in novels. Paragraphs riddled with -ly words — like the one above — are fine in blog posts, status updates, conversations, tweets, news…
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On Becoming a Gym Rat: Revisited
January is the month for resolutions, and for lots of people, getting more exercise tops the list. We year-round gym rats see the influx of new faces every January. Some will stick around, but in a matter of weeks, most will give up and quit coming. Read on if you want to be around next…
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Pet Writing Peeves: It
The members of my writers group will tell you that overuse of the word “it” is one of my pet peeves. Don’t get me wrong. “It” is a perfectly acceptable word. But most of the time, there are better options. Sometimes, “it” is used to refer to another word or phrase that comes later in…
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DVR Changed My Life
For longer than I care to admit, my evenings revolved around the television. I had shows to watch every night of the week. Picking favorites for some nights was easier than others, but somehow, I always found something to watch. Looking back, the quality of my viewing selections makes me cringe. I couldn’t stay awake…
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Masculine Enhancement
Listening to talk radio on long drives keeps me from falling asleep. Depending on traffic, a few minutes of Rush Limbaugh can keep me seething for a good fifty miles. Though his partisan rants are intended to amuse, the real entertainment comes from some of the ads — especially the ads for masculine enhancement. For the…
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Joining a Writers Group
The start of another year is like Christmas for the resolution industry. The gym will be crowded and meetings at Weight Watchers will be standing room only. January is also when we see a big influx of new members in our local writers group. Seems there are lots of aspiring writers out there. Some have…
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Change
Change is the one thing in life that never changes–and I’m not talking about coins. That change is a constant force in our lives isn’t a novel concept. A quote about “change being the dominant factor in society today” is attributed to Isaac Asimov, with lots of dissenters pointing to similar comments dating back to…
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Useless Usernames & Passwords
When I was in junior high a very long time ago, the only number I had to know was the combination to my school locker. I remembered it. Mostly. And when I forgot, someone in the school office could look it up for me. High school required that I remember two lock combinations (one for…
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I’m Talking to You, Not Everybody But You!
Just about every time I blog about trying to live a healthier lifestyle, I hear from people who say my journey has inspired them to make positive changes of their own. Deep down inside, I’m hardwired to help people. That something I said–some piece of information I provided–helped even one person in some small way…
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Lost in iSpace
Last Saturday, I finally got around to switching from Android and a piece of shoddy engineering known as the LG Ally to the beautiful and magnificent iPhone 4S. Now I know how Helen Keller must have felt when she figured out how to communicate with the world around her. OMG! It’s like the fifth dimension…