Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule. — Stephen King. American author (born 1947) Writing
Making people believe the unbelievable is no trick; it's work. … Belief and reader absorption come in the details: An overturned tricycle in the gutter of an abandoned neighborhood can stand for everything.
Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.
When your story is ready for rewrite, cut it to the bone. Get rid of every ounce of excess fat. This is going to hurt; revising a story down to the bare essentials is always a little like murdering children, but it must be done.