Editor Fixes Common Prose Mistakes (Part 2)

Four Common Prose Habits to Revise

A professional book editor discusses four prose habits that can weaken a manuscript. The central lesson is to revise for clarity, vividness, and purposeful sentence structure—without applying any rule so rigidly that the writing becomes repetitive or overworked.

1. Prefer active sentence structures when appropriate

In an active sentence, the subject performs the action: “She cooked lunch.” In a passive sentence, the subject receives the action: “Lunch was cooked.” Passive phrasing can leave readers wondering who acted and may feel less immediate.

When you don’t mean to conceal the actor or create a particular effect, put the person or thing doing the action at the beginning of the sentence and give it a clear verb:

• “The door was opened by Millie” → “Millie opened the door.”

Passive constructions can be useful when withholding the actor is intentional—for example, to create suspense or focus attention on an unexplained event.

Sentences beginning with “there is,” “there are,” “there was,” or “there were” can also make descriptions feel static. Find the meaningful subject and let it perform a specific action:

• “There was a chair positioned under the doorknob” → “A chair blocked the door.”
• “There were candles placed along the corridor” → “Candles flickered along the corridor.”

2. Let verbs carry more of the meaning

Adverbs can explain how an action occurs, but relying on them may produce flat or redundant phrasing:

• “He walked angrily into the room” → “He stomped into the room.”
• “She cried loudly” → “She sobbed.”

Choose verbs that convey the specific movement, emotion, or atmosphere of the moment rather than automatically adding an adverb. Verbs can also animate objects and surroundings: floorboards can groan, vines can hug walls, and shadows can stretch.

Use vivid verbs selectively. Too many elaborate choices can make prose feel overdone, and a simple verb may be the strongest option. Adverbs aren’t inherently wrong; revise them when they feel redundant, repetitive, or weaker than a more precise alternative.

Exercise: Find three sentences in a draft that use adverbs. Try rewriting each with one intentional verb that conveys the desired mood.

3. Replace vague filler with purposeful specifics—or cut it

Words and phrases such as “eventually,” “after some time,” “somehow,” “sort of,” and “kind of” may blur an image or add little information.

Specific details can make a scene more visual, grounded, and useful to the pacing. For instance, instead of writing “After some time he left the building,” you could show him checking his watch and exiting through a stairwell.

Specificity can also show how an event happens rather than glossing over it with a vague word—for example, by showing a character following rushing water to a riverbank.

Not every transition needs explanation. A direct cut to the next scene may be clearer and more confident than a filler phrase; readers can infer what happened in the gap. Avoid adding details simply to make a passage longer. Keep details that reveal character, build atmosphere, or move the scene forward.

Exercise: Highlight vague words and ask whether each should be replaced with a clear, relevant image or removed altogether.

4. Use “-ing” participles deliberately

Participial phrases can make prose feel cluttered or repetitive when many sentences use the same pattern. They work well when actions genuinely happen at the same time:

He pulled out his phone, scrolling through the messages.

They may feel awkward when they join actions that happen in sequence rather than simultaneously, such as unlocking a door and then walking into a room.

A common pattern places an “-ing” action after a dialogue tag. This can make the tag redundant or leave the action feeling loosely attached. Consider separating the action from the dialogue:

• Instead of “‘I’m fine,’ he said, shrugging,” use an action beat: He shrugged. “I’m fine.”
• Instead of “‘Don’t go,’ she asked, reaching for his sleeve,” write: “Don’t go.” She reached for his sleeve.

Don’t eliminate every participle; it may be right for a sentence’s rhythm and flow.

Exercise: Highlight the “-ing” verbs in a scene. Check whether the actions truly overlap or are merely stacked, then try rewriting at least half as direct actions or action beats.

Speakers and Sources

• Video host: A full-time professional book editor from The Plottery, who explains the examples and exercises.
• No other speakers or quoted sources are featured in the subtitles.