Grammar Divas has a great post on incorrect use of participles, or as they like to call them dangling participles.

So what's a participle again? A participle is a verb form that no longer functions as a verb but instead is now a noun or pronoun modifier; much like an adjectives is. Participles come in the present and past tense and often end in -ing.

From the post;

'Dangler: Standing on the dock, the boat didn't look safe.

When is the last time you saw a boat standing on a dock? Yep, an idea is missing. And although the idea is easy to figure out, you, the writer, should supply it rather than assume your reader "knows what I mean." Remember, she wants to read your style, not fill in the blank for you.

Styler: Standing on the dock, the fisherman stared at the boat he'd rented sight unseen. Thing was a freakin' sieve. He'd be shark bait before he left the harbor.'

The post itself has some other great examples and will really start to get you thinking about your participles! Helpful during editing.

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Victoria is a scientist by day--reluctant writer by night, Clarion Write-a-Thon survivor, slush reader for Dark Fiction Magazine, and founder and editor of the 'of Altered States' anthology series.

Victoria has short fiction published in the upcoming City of Hell Chronicles and 100 Horrors anthologies. She's also writing her first novel; a tale of magical realism.