Start the challenge with a flawed piece; end with a much readier-to-be-published work.
If you started writing but got lost in the middle, or wrote a novel but aren’t satisfied, or wrote a novella or a nonfiction work but are nervous about sharing, then this course is for you.
The editing challenge aims to teach how to get the best out of your stories when you’re working on your own. The challenge begins with big picture matters and concentrates on one element at a time. (Grammar’s not on the list.) We’ll dive into themes, scenes, descriptions, characters and more during class and you’ll apply the principles to the rest of your manuscript at home each week (2 to 3 hours depending on the length of what you’re editing). Lots of discussions.
Before class starts, please submit the first 2500 words of a novella or a novel you wrote so the instructor gets a glimpse of your style.
Notebook, pens, highlighters, colored markers, cue cards or post-its, stickers, loose paper, scissors, tape, your manuscript.
Week 1: Story essence
Week 2: Reinforce your message
Week 3: Add scenes that matter
Week 4: Perform Plot Surgery
Week 5: Reevaluate your writing
Week 6: Check decor touches
Week 7: Modify your word use
Week 8: Share
Thursdays, Jan. 30 to March 27 (8 weeks, no class March 6)
6 - 8 p.m.
UNB Fredericton
Marshall d'Avary Hall, 10 Mackay Drive, room 321
$180 (+ HST)
Ann Kitching (BA, B.Ed, M.Ed) is a former teacher with almost 20 years in education. After seven years as a middle-school French teacher in Nackawic (Canada), she moved to Dubai (United Arab Emirates) where she taught kindergarten to university.
After early retirement in Fredericton, NB, she wrote and published nonfiction books on writing (“How to Plot and Write a Story,” and “Story Writing Basics”). Currently teaching A Novella Challenge at UNB, she continues to write and self-publish.
