Self Edit Your Novel

A six-month intensive class for writers seeking to review, revise, rethink, and finalize their novels.

You can attend this class in person at BARN, or online via Zoom.

How clearly can you see your own work in progress? Over the span of six months, you’ll learn and practice useful self-editing tools and immediately applicable tips from a professional developmental fiction editor. You’ll start with evaluating the “big picture” effectiveness of your novel, then, month by month, work toward specific ways to approach line and copy edits to tighten your prose and correct distracting errors. Take your working draft to final draft!

Each class will dive into specific areas:

1. What’s your story? (Stepping back to see the big picture of your plot)
2. Who are these people? (Interacting with your characters)
3. Who’s telling your story? (Analyzing your narrative voice and point of view)
4. What structure holds this together? (Keeping the reader’s attention scene by scene)
5. Does it glow? (Practicing line editing to highlight pacing, atmosphere, and tone)
6. Are there distractions? (Copy editing for readability and accuracy)

Between classes, you’ll be assigned in-depth, self-guided exercises to help you consider your work from a fresh perspective. At the beginning of each session, we’ll discuss what you learned, and workshop specific scenes from each person’s work in progress to provide accountability and feedback.

Class meeting dates:

1. Sat, 1/13/2024 1:00:00 PM – 4:00 PM
2. Sat, 2/10/2024 1:00:00 PM – 4:00 PM
3. Sat, 3/9/2024 1:00:00 PM – 4:00 PM
4. Sat, 4/20/2024 1:00:00 PM – 4:00 PM
5. Sat, 5/11/2024 1:00:00 PM – 4:00 PM
6. Sat, 6/8/2024 1:00:00 PM – 4:00 PM

After Class 5, you’ll have the option to sign up for a reduced-fee editorial review of your synopsis and first 10,000 words, with one to two pages of editorial notes.

Click here for more information and registration!