October Zoom Class - My 5 Top Edits in First Drafts
Staring down a first draft can be daunting. It requires identifying clearly and precisely the limitations that need to be confronted. First I’ll share ways to “befriend” the first draft with all its flaws. It’s critical to do this before you start to revise. Then I’ll share the top 5 limitations of first drafts that I see and work with as an editor. Expect to come out of the workshop with ideas of what might not yet be working in your first draft, how to focus the draft to do what you want it to do, and techniques for all of the above.
RESCHEDULED! Saturday, November 7th, 2020 from 10:00-11:00AM EST,
I’ll be giving a class on revision.
My 5 Top Edits in First Drafts
Staring down a first draft can be daunting. It requires identifying clearly and precisely the limitations that need to be confronted. First I’ll share ways to “befriend” the first draft with all its flaws. It’s critical to do this before you start to revise. Then I’ll share the top 5 limitations of first drafts that I see and work with as an editor. Expect to come out of the workshop with ideas of what might not yet be working in your first draft, how to focus the draft to do what you want it to do, and techniques for all of the above.
Pricing:$15 for the live class or the recording
For $45 I will respond to 10 pages of your first draft and respond with a 1000-word letter that identifies any limitations I see.
For $125 I will read 25 pages and have a one-hour Zoom Truth Talk with the writer in which we create a list of the draft’s limitations and a strategy to revise. We will also discuss any of the writer’s own personal writing tics and how to eliminate them.
As a White woman, I recognize that I have privilege and access not everyone does, and I’d like to do what I can to assist BIPOC writers in getting their voices out into the world, so I am offering this class (My 5 Top Edits in First Drafts) free to any BIPOC writer who would like to attend.
Why Truth Talks?
Why do I work with writers orally / aurally? What is it about speaking that lends itself to truth-telling?
Speaking out loud bypasses your left brain, and so your analytic, reflective, thinking self has no time to butt in on your intuitive process. Speech is spontaneous. You can’t stop it. It’s present and irreversible. It is also transient, which is maybe why it feels safe to spew it out quickly and hope no one heard.
Speech is also flawed. We stutter, fumble, hem and haw in ways we never would on the page. In other words, it is natural and personal to you. You are being heard exactly as you are in that moment.
In Truth Talks, I listen for “telling details” that pop and resonate as the writer talks. I listen for what sounds important. I listen for sighs, pauses, and for things that are left out. And I listen to my own intuition, following my hunches as I question and direct the conversation.
After, I send the writer these words and notes, along with a Zoom recording. I hope in this process to model for the writer a way to bypass the inner critic and follow what feels right for her.
Writing On Both Sides of the Brain by Henriette Anne Klauser has inspired me on this path. Check it out here.
Zoom Class
Zoom Class: Creating A Mission Statement for Your Writing
CREATING A MISSION STATEMENT FOR YOUR WRITING
Saturday, August 15, 2020 | 9:00 - 10:30AM EST
Sometimes in a writing life, you can feel like you’re sleepwalking. As a result, external voices—social media, peers, the publishing world—can hold more sway over your writing than you do. In this 90-minute class, you will take control of your writing life by assessing your values and beliefs, and examining what matters most to you so you can align your writing with your passion.
Please visit The Book Whisperer Coaching FB Page for pre-class worksheets, and handout. Registration is free, but required. Registration Closed, Recording Here
Finishing School | 2020 Summer Discount
Use the summer to finish your book!
$750 for a full manuscript review – save $200 off $950 price!
July and August 2020 only
And…
Now Introducing: The Truth Talks
A one-hour Zoom conversation in which I use special feedback techniques to help you find your story. Time and time again it is during a conversation that the truth–the theme, the central question, the core concern that is not yet on the page–comes out. In these talks, I read your work first, then we talk and I listen and take notes and play back to you what I hear. Use it as a one-time check-in on a piece or a book-length manuscript, or to book-end the longer editing or manuscript review process.
One hour Zoom Truth Talk = $125