It is a hot day becomes it s a hot day , in the same way that S he was not unhappy contracts to she wasn t unhappy . Plurals are easy. They never need apostrophes. Seven dogs are in the yard and the black one is scratching its leg. My dog s asleep at home , just about covers it.
Repetition Watch out for words repeated too closely on a page.
Then, either change them or move them. If you leave them where they are, make sure it s for a reason for emphasis, irony, or to underline the meaning of the phrase or sentence. In one draft of a recent story, I repeated the phrase she took his arm five times. Although the story was about an elderly man attended by female caregivers, I revised the piece so the reader would not be distracted by the repetitions, or worse still, start looking for the phrase s next occurrence. I m always alert to references of flying wedge haircuts and French heels on Ed McBain s women.