You’ve heard of writing prompts; now we have revision prompts! Each prompt will give you a specific writing issue to check for in your WIP, along with tips on how to fix each. Going through this process one issue at a time will not only help polish your current novel but will also teach you specific ways to improve your writing for your next story.
FIND: Search your WIP for the word “just.”
FIX: Unless it absolutely and positively must be there, and without it, the sentence suffers, take them all out.
WHY? – “Just” is almost always an extraneous word and doesn’t truly add any value to the sentence. Usually, you can remove it without changing the meaning of the sentence at all.
EXAMPLES:
Just stop it!
Stop it!
I added just a little bacon to the salad.
I added a little bacon to the salad.
One of the keys to publication is a willingness to learn. We hope our Revising Prompts will help you learn more about the craft of writing and speed you on your way to publication.