I generally end up adding material when I revise (I draft bare-bones and bulk it up afterwards), but I know I’m unusual in this, and this article’s advice is good regardless. Basically: Outline what you’ve already written, and it will show you what’s unnecessary and what doesn’t fit.
I’m part of an online community where we critique each other’s work, and the critique I find myself offering most often is that the story lacks clarity. Outlining so you can figure out what the story actually is will help you to solve this problem.
(I have a technique I call the “rich outline,” which isn’t just about plot events, but any aspect of the story you want to work on: imagery, language, character, setting, emotional beats. It’s a general fix for a number of story ailments.)
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