Redrafting I

Another brilliant workshop on Saturday. Thanks to everyone who came along. If you missed it, we spent a lot of time looking at the common pitfalls of first drafts and how to combat them; from unarresting openings to overly-explained endings, via that good old favourite - the saggy middle. But it was equally great listening to everyone list the things they liked about their works-in-progress. It's all too easy to forget why you started this whole thing in the first place after months (sometimes years) of rethinking, rewriting and rearranging. Try to hold on to those beacons of light in the darkness, whether its a particularly loved character, a vivid, dynamic scene, or even just a beautiful image. 

​It was also great, from a personal viewpoint, to have the chance to share some of my own work with you. Not something I'd normally do in a writing workshop; it feels a bit like showing off, and that invariably leads to a fall. But both Susan and I wanted you to see the difference between an early draft and a final one.

This Saturday, 18th June 2016, we are continuing the redrafting work but this time looking more at the nitty-gritty process of line-editing. If you'd like to join us, you don't need a whole draft, just a chapter or two to work on in class. We have a couple of places left and full details are available here.


Finally, here's a lovely poultry themed literary cartoon! Visit savagechickens.com for more great cartoons on sticky notes.