Just like any other piece of the writing process, editing is a craft to be learned. So often the best of stories are held back not by the author’s creativity but by common typos, cliché phrasings, and vague descriptions that don’t hook the reader as much as they could. How can an opening go beyond what readers have seen before? How can a writer think past smiles, nods, and glances? How can a simple interaction come alive? Join us as our guest speaker, Kris Spisak, leads a workshop where virtual attendees will discover:
- Strategies to elevate every sentence’s verbs
- Methods for slicing down wordiness
- A “cheat sheet” to bring your writing to the next level using Kris’s favorite editing process
- Macro-editing and micro-editing techniques to put to use right away
Kris Spisak wrote her first book, Get a Grip on Your Grammar: 250 Writing and Editing Reminders for the Curious or Confused (Career Press, 2017), with a goal to help writers of all kinds sharpen their craft and empower their communications. Her “Words You Should Know” podcast and “Grammartopia” events follow the same mission, as do her latest books, The Novel Editing Workbook: 105 Tricks & Tips for Revising Your Fiction Manuscript (Davro Press, 2020) and The Family Story Workbook: 105 Prompts & Particulars for Recording Your Shared History (forthcoming). A former college writing instructor, having taught at institutions including the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University, Kris is now an active speaker, workshop leader, and freelance fiction editor. She is the board chair of James River Writers and is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors, the Virginia Writers Club, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.
Meeting Details
Saturday, July 25
1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Online – details provided to members via email
Upcoming Meetings
July 29-August 2 – Virginia Writers Club 10th Annual Navigating Your Writing Life Symposium
September 19 (tentative) – Business of writing workshop TBD