SELF-EDITING
Learn how to self-edit fiction like an editor.
About the Event
Learn how to self-edit fiction like an editor.
So you’ve written a full-length manuscript? Well, now the real work begins. This online program comprising 3 x 2-hour sessions will teach you how to undertake a structural edit and make your manuscript the very best that it can be, increasing the chance of publication. You will learn how to become a more objective reader of your work and identify areas that require improvement. And you’ll receive tips and techniques for working through each aspect of the editing process. This program is for emerging and developing writers. It includes exercises and each session will allow time for questions.
Session 1 – 2pm-4pm Saturday 25 July
• introduction to self-editing
• what is structural editing?
• finding the heart of your story
• plot and narrative arc
• beginnings, middles and endings
• backstory problems
• prologues—to include or not?
• crafting opening sentences
• defining the dramatic question
• introduction to the three-act structure
• weaving in subplots
• identifying plot holes
Feedback on previous self-editing course
“Irma was BRILLIANT!! I got so much out of her workshop. Please get her back to do more.”
“Irma’s presentation was very professional and helpful. She did an excellent job.”
“Saturday [with Irma]—couldn’t fault it.”
“I learnt more in this one day than during my uni creative writing course.”
Please note: as this program has been designed as an interconnected series of discussions, participants will not be able to pay by session. Each participant to be responsible for the stability of their internet connection.
Session 2 – 2pm-4pm Saturday 1 August
• setting the scene
• characterisation
• developing character arcs
• sympathetic and unlikable characters
• finding the ideal point of view
• creating meaningful and natural dialogue
• problems editors commonly see
Session 3 – 2pm-4pm Saturday 8 August
• effective description
• avoiding stage directions
• showing versus telling
• how to avoid showing the research
• finding the ‘right’ voice
• learning from published texts
• specialised readers, sensitivity readers and beta readers
• managing feedback
• knowing when to stop revising and submit
• strategies for tackling self-editing tasks
• employing a freelance editor
• submitting to agents and/or publishers
• all your ‘how do I get published’ questions answered
About Irma Gold
Irma is an award-winning writer and editor of books for adults and children. She is the author of three picture books, mostly recently Megumi and the Bear (Walker Books), with two more forthcoming, Seree’s Story (Walker Books) and Where the Heart Is (EK Books). Irma is also the author of an acclaimed short fiction collection, Two Steps Forward, and her short fiction has been widely published in journals and anthologies. Her debut novel, The Breaking, won the NSW Writers Centre Varuna Fellowship and will be published in 2021. Irma has worked as an editor for 21 years and was Convener of Editing at the University of Canberra for a decade. Irma is passionate about literacy and getting kids hooked on reading, and is Ambassador for the ACT Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge. Visit her at irmagold.com