Track Down the Weasel Words

Suppose you took your car to a mechanic who greeted you in about an hour and said, "You'll be pleased to know that I replaced your dead battery and added 250 unnecessary parts." Just as unnecessary parts would ruin a car engine, so unnecessary words, phrases, and elements can do damage to a story engine. Veteran writer Angela Hunt shares tips and strategies to help you revise your writing and make it the best it can be. These lessons, Hunt says, "are brief for a reason—I don’t want you to spend …