Instructor: Nina Munteanu

Every work must first pass through the scrutiny of revision and editing before it is ready to market. Skills in revision and polish are therefore an essential component in every writer’s toolkit. Revision is a lot like stripping and polishing furniture: it follows a cyclical oscillation of wax and wane toward a story’s final destiny. Sometimes you need to remove; other times you need to add on.  The key to this balanced dance lies in the story being told.

In this 3-hour 2-day workshop of lecture and discussion, Nina Munteanu (internationally published writer of short stories and eight novels) will use examples (of your works possibly) to help you learn the tools and strategies to effectively and objectively revise and polish story. She will provide revision tools that increase tension, pace, reader interest, flow and direction (e.g., de-cluttering, simplifying, show & tell, POV, sentence and narrative structure, verb quality, and more).

Effective revision and polish requires more than attending to grammar and style; it requires a good understanding of solid storytelling. The basis of good storytelling lies in structure, language and movement. Nina will discuss how you can enhance story using senses, metaphor, thematic imagery, and vibrant language. 

The workshop will include lecture, use of examples and discussions. The course will also include several handouts containing more information, examples and exercises. Students are invited to bring in and discuss their own works.

Students are invited to submit one week prior to the course the opening page (or a particularly vivid page – just one page, please! – of their WIP), which may be used in class discussion. Upon registration, send your page to nina.sfgirl@gmail.com.

This hands-on interactive workshop is reserved for writers with a Work In Progress (WIP). The WIP needn’t be finished, however. The workshop will consist of lecture with discussion through direct feedback on participant’s works (to be submitted prior to the course date).  

Due to its highly interactive nature, this course is limited to 5 students. 

Recommended Resources: The Fiction Writer: Get Published, Write Now! (Starfire World Syndicate) by Nina Munteanu;  The Elements of Style (Longman Publishers) by William Strunk and E.B. White; Stein on Writing by Sol Stein; Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg.

Time & Schedule: 2-day course of three-hour lecture and discussion/workshop with homework assignments; schedule in upcoming Semester TBA.

Cost: $100 

Contact: nina.sfgirl@gmail.com [subject: Self-Editing writing] for information about the course and how to register.

Register now to guarantee a spot in this highly popular and limited seating course. Limited to 5 people.

“Nina is brilliant, tireless and passionate.” – Margaret Hastings-James, writer, NS

“Nina shares her expertise with endless enthusiasm.  I always go away with double the energy than when I came!… Once you meet her, look out! She’ll zap ya with her spark!” — Krista Fogel, BC

“Nina was warm and encouraging… She was extremely knowledgeable, gracious and honest.”— Zoe M. Hicks, author of The Women’s Estate Planning Guide and Dream Catcher, the Power of Faith, GA