Give the gift of writing!

Has your family started asking you what you want for the holidays?

Maybe you should start hinting about a novel revision class.

Lois Brandt’s novel revision class starts January 20^th at Bellevue College (North Campus). 

Novel Re-Vision: Editing Your Manuscript for Story   

Tuesdays, January 11^th – March 1st

6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Do you have a completed draft novel? Wondering what to do next? This class walks writers through the novel revision process. In-class exercises and critiques help students recognize the sections of their manuscripts that convey story and those that don’t. During the course students will compile a list of edits necessary to revise their novel. Prerequisite: a completed draft novel. Fee: $195.00

For more information, please follow this link to the Bellevue College website: http://www.campusce.net/bc/course/course.aspx?C=12122

If you have any questions about whether this is the right class for you, please feel free to email Lois (Lois@LoisBrandt.com).

Online revision class with Ann Gonzalez

Do you have a completed manuscript that you need to revise? Do you have the first third of a novel written and you need help and a push to get to the end?

Join Ann Gonzalez, MFA and author of Running for My Life, and a group of other writers in an eight-week workshop class where you will learn aspects of craft, receive revision notes and support, as well as an occasional push to help you reach the end.

No one walks away from this class without getting their money's worth since it comes with a money-back guarantee. At $125 for 8 weeks it's possibly the cheapest way to receive editorial notes on your work-in-progress while learning about the craft of writing at the same time.

The next session begins on May 16. Contact Ann at ann@anngonzalez.com for more information or to sign up.

Lisa Graff: Write like an author, revise like an editor #scbwiwwa

Here are a few highlights:

• You have to be good at revising before you even have an editor, so you're presenting your best work;
• If you're a first-time author, your manuscript needs to be in publishable shape because an editor doesn't know if you can't revise and has to assume your book isn't getting better; and
• Writing and revising require different hats (say, Dr. Seuss vs. a construction hardhat).

When Lisa writes, she does a complete draft and "it is terrible." She doesn't like writing the first draft and does it as quickly as possible. Then she puts on her editor's hat and reads it in one sitting. She takes notes (e.g. "make this part not suck").

Then she writes a new draft and repeats. Lots of times. She makes major changes. Kills characters. Changes endings. Changes themes.

Follow your muse, but recognize that stories often change.  

Revisions class

Eileen Robinson and Harold Underdown, children's book editors, have a program called Kid's Book Revision, and they're offering a class that starts on Feb. 20.

Get the details here.

Revision tip from Laurie Halse Anderson

I don't know about you, but I'd sort of do anything Laurie Halse Anderson says to be able to write like she does:

Many people struggle to find a way to look at the larger picture of their novel. They can line edit a page or take a chapter to their writer's group, but managing the unwieldy novel is hard.

Here is what I do.

1. Get the largest piece of paper you can find. I go to an art supply store and buy an enormous artist's pad for this task.

2. You need to carve out three hours of concentration time. Turn off the internet and phone. Loan your dog and children and partner to nice people who will return them fed and watered after the the three hours. Chain off the driveway so delivery trucks and friendly people who don't understand what you mean when you say "I'm working" can't drop in.

3. On one of your massive sheets of paper, list every chapter in your book. Describe the action in the chapter in one sentence.

Read the rest.

Cool! See Dickens' own edits

The New York Times has a copy of Charles Dickens' sole manuscript of A Christmas Carol, marked up with his revisions.

Check it out.

Don't want to read something out loud?

Then convert your text to an audio file and listen to a robot read it at Hear Who. You can choose "Mike" the male voice or "Crystal" the female version, and you'll hear all sorts of errors your brain was hiding from you.

Here's a link to the tool.

Another take on novel revisions

Jennifer Jensen has a sensible approach in her article on Suite 101:
- focus first on the structure
- move to the supporting elements
- hone in on details and line-editing

The full story is here.

Thanks to Gail Martini-Peterson for the link.