The Rockingham Writers Centre is having their first Writers' Convention in September and I've been invited to give a workshop about editing.
It's been quite an interesting process getting ready for the workshop as I've had to go through all the things I've learnt and write a summary of what I want to cover. It's actually quite a lot and I've only got 1.5 hours!
The thing I've noticed the most is how far I've come as a writer. I went through some of my very early drafts looking for examples of what to look out for when editing, and came across a whole heap of examples of what not to do! Over the years I've critiqued a lot of manuscripts, I've judged for competitions and I've mentored for the Romance Writers of Australia. There are definitely common mistakes I've found in beginner writers work. I'm going to focus on those as well as giving tips for how to discover them in your own work.
The workshop will cover:
- the types of editing and when to do each one
- what to look out for when doing structural edits
- what filter words are and why they can dilute your writing
- tips and techniques for proof-reading your work
- how to find professional editors
The Rockingham Writers Centre convention is Saturday 17 September 2016 at the Arts Centre on Kent Street, Rockingham. The draft program is up on their website, and I can tell you there will be opportunities to pitch to publishers and agents as well as a whole heap of excellent workshops.
I hope to see you there!
