• Reserve the apostrophe for it's proper use, and omit it when its not necessary.
• Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of ten or more words, to their antecedents.
• If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
• Hyphenate only between sy-llables and avoid un-necessary hyphens.
• A writer must not shift your point of view.
• Fragments of sentences.
• Be watchful of run-on sentences if you aren't careful they can become cumbersome and your readers will be confused your meaning may be lost.
• Punctuation; is, important (to) clarify?
• Remember to never split infinitives.
• Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek viable alternatives.

• to for too (I want to come along too!)
  
• breath for breathe (Take one long breath, but don't forget to breathe!)
  
• they're for their (They're here! Take their coats from them ok?)
  
• it's for its (It's sad, but the elephant lost its memory.)
  
• theirs for there's (The two desks are theirs, but there's something of mine there!)
  
• your for you're (You're kidding, me right? Your sister is not here!)
  
• then for than (If it's easier than I thought, then we can do it.)

A Tip from Debbie - an Expert in Residence

Lie vs. Lay

There is a simple rule-of-thumb:

Lie = To recline.
Lay = To put or place.

In other words, to lie is something you do. To lay is something you do to something else.

He lay the parts on top of the tool chest, then settled in to lie underneath the car.

There is, of course, a Web site that goes into more detail.

FYI: Prodigal means recklessly wasteful; extravagant. Be careful who you call prodigal. It's not just that they came back from being away or something!