Tip: Avoid vague words like usually, pretty, very, just. (She was very pretty vs. She was beautiful vs. She was Aphrodite made flesh.)

Thought for the day: “Edit, edit, edit. Scrape off the dirt so that the diamonds can shine. A lot of writing is knowing what to take away.” – Erica Jong

Jumpstart: “It was worth a try,” he said as he shrugged.

“No, it wasn’t. Look what happened. Now, we have even more of a mess to clean up.”