Top Five Mistakes I Caught On Revisions

Busy week for me my friends...my YA paranormal romance, NIGHT SHIFT, is now officially on submission. *throws confetti* More details to follow in the coming weeks.

My present TBR pile, not exactly as shown.
photo credit, heroinetv.com

This is an exciting time, if only for the fact the book has had such an impressive growth spurt since it met my agent, @rivetingrosie. And yes, after months—okay years—of working on it, I guess I've earned some time to sit back and start making a dent in that huge pile of books on my nightstand.

WRONG!

Now is the time to revise that other book I've been working on. As I go through the MS, a pattern has emerged. It's nice to see I can spot my own writing tics now. Here are the top five mistakes I caught on revisions.

1. My characters bite their lips and raise their eyebrows way too much.

2. 'Cory ran across the lawn.' Sounds much better than, 'I watched Cory as he ran across the lawn.'

3. When I take out the word, 'just' the plot STILL moves forward. Amazing!

4. 'Jesse felt embarrassed.' is a lazy way of saying, 'Jesse blushed as she squirmed on the bench, her eyes darted everywhere around the room, except where Cory was standing.'

5. Most words ending in 'ly' are unnecessary.

Do any of these sound familiar?

Next Monday I'll be blogging the latest episode of Once Upon A Time.

Cheers!