The Revision That Saves the Book

One Honest Cut

A manuscript can be ruined by one indulgence: a character the writer loves too much, a subplot that exists only for decoration, a chapter written for vanity rather than necessity.

And yet the cure is often simple.

One honest cut.

Not the kind made in panic, but the kind made in calm recognition: this does not belong.

The writer who can remove what they love is the writer who will finish something that lasts.

The Monroe Minute

Cut one sentence today that you like but do not need. Notice how the paragraph improves.

Until the next page,
Sloane S. Monroe

Sloane Shay Monroe

I don’t write to idealize love, but to explore it honestly, with emotional precision and depth.