The Art of Revision

“With the tools I learned in this workshop—and the reference material—I can implement a strategy with a broad template, while still remaining flexible.”

Julie, July 17, 2021

“I would recommend others attend this workshop—if only to get into the mindset of writing and meet like-minded, friendly people who can help you get out of your own head. I went from seeing editing as “losing authenticity” to embracing it as a necessary part of the creative endeavor; I even had fun editing! I acquired foundational knowledge of different skills not limited to editing, and I learned to break down writing into its finer details—and how to analyze and improve my pieces.”

Irakli, May 25, 2019

“I happen to be a complete beginner; I’d never taken a writing class in my life, but I learned so much! I learned to be a better writer—which I expected—but I came out of the workshop a better reader as well. I’m more appreciative and aware of the craft and technique(s) involved in writing.

During the workshop, it became clear that revision is not simply cleaning up the text here and there but [revision] is an integral part of the process of writing—that was very exciting to me. I feel that I can now approach writing in a much more playful and experimental way, discovering my voice as I go along. Revision makes this possible because you don’t have to get it right the first time. The idea that your original text can—and probably should—change drastically during the process of rewriting was freeing. I thought it would be arduous, but it was, in fact, very creative. I liked the balance between the creative and the analytical.”

Clare, May 25, 2019

“My opinion of revision totally changed [after the workshop]. I used to see revision as something that required a lot of exhaustive focus on detail, a process I needed to approach it line by line. I like that I saw improvement in my work. [Revision] forced me to look at my piece from a reader’s point of view, and my writing is better because of it.”

Vanessa, May 25, 2019

“The workshop gave us loads of excellent how-to info, which is very helpful as I start revising my novel. It calmed my total dread of revision, as well as giving me a better idea of what revision can do, and how dramatically a piece can be improved.”

Caroline, May 25, 2019

“At first, I thought revision would be the boring, nitty gritty stuff that comes after the creative process: endlessly rereading your work, reviewing, editing, correcting spelling errors. To my delight, [this workshop] taught me that revision is actually a continuation of the creative process. You look at your writing from different angles, in a holistic way, and you make it stronger and more appealing to readers. It brings your writing to a higher level!

I’m fairly new to writing and this workshop helped me tremendously. It helped me approach my writing in a more structured fashion. I started writing in an intuitive way and was getting a bit lost in the process. As a result of this workshop, I now have a plan and a vision of where I want to go, which in turn helps to keep momentum in the process. There is a lot of room for creativity [in the revision process].”

Anke, May 25, 2019

“The challenge of making improvements and seeing a story take shape from an initial idea was what I took from this workshop. Before the course, I was worried about making sure I revised everything, but I learned that concentrating on story and character gives everything else a focus.”

Maggie, May 25, 2019

“I was drawn to the workshop because I saw that the first draft is really just raw material, and revision is the craft. I began to see the importance of a revision plan to help me stay focused and to see where my piece may need more work.”

Sam, May 19, 2019