Finishing your book is awesome. Finishing your editing is what makes all the difference.

Our Fall 2022 session begins 9/6/22!

Course curriculum

    1. Welcome from Kris

    2. The Three Essential Phases of Editing

    3. Avoiding the Overwhelm! - Revision Strategies to Remember

    4. Revision & Editing Terminology - Quick Review

    5. Prep Stage: Homework

    1. 3 "Macro" Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Call Your Project "Done"

    2. The Hero's Quest, Three-Act Structure & What Might Work for You

    3. Your Book's "Mission" vs. Your Book's "Vision"

    4. Double-checking What's Actually Happening in That Scene

    5. On Beginnings... And Endings...

    6. Clichés to Avoid! - A Quick Check of Your Story

    7. Macro (Stage 1) Homework

    1. 2 More "Macro" Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Call Your Project "Done"

    2. Knowing Each Character's Purpose & Possible Pitfalls

    3. "Point of View" - Deep Dive

    4. Flat Character Eliminator - Worksheet Bundle

    5. Practice: P.O.V. Quiz! (checking your know-how)

    6. Embracing Editorial To-Do Lists

    7. Macro (Stage 2) Homework

    1. 2 Final "Macro" Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Call Your Project "Done"

    2. Practice: How Balancing Story Elements Can Embolden Your Pacing

    3. Macro (Stage 3) Homework

    1. 2 "Micro" Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Call Your Project "Done"

    2. First Draft Verbs Don't Need to be Forever

    3. "Stand Out from the Crowd" Editing Cheat-sheets

    4. Micro (Stage One) Homework

    1. 2 More "Micro" Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Call Your Project "Done"

    2. The Power of Specificity - Double-checking depth of details

    3. Let's Talk Dialogue...

    4. Pausing to Reconsider Pauses in Speech

    5. Micro (Stage two) Homework

About this course

  • $499.00
  • 40 lessons

What online course attendees are saying...

“This has been one of the most helpful workshops I have ever taken.”

Online course attendee, 2022

“I am blown away by the depth of content she presented. I will buy her books, and latch onto her website!”

Online course attendee, 2022

“Crisp, entertaining, and helpful. As a former corporate writer, I’m learning that fiction is a very different animal. Thanks for showing me some ways to get a saddle on that animal.”

Online course attendee, 2022

“Valuable information, takeaways, and ah ha moments!”

Online course attendee, 2021

“She made me excited about going back and reworking.”

Online course attendee, 2021

Instructor

Kris Spisak

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; Harper Collins India, 2020), to help writers of all kinds sharpen their storytelling and empower their communications. Her “Words You Should Know” podcast, Grammartopia® events, and Story Stop Tour programs follow the same mission, as do her second and third books, The Novel Editing Workbook (Davro Press, 2020) and The Family Story Workbook (Davro Press, 2020). Her debut novel, The Baba Yaga Mask (Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing, 2020) was called "A complex, poetic tale" by Kirkus Reviews. Kris has always had a fascination with the ways one can capture an audience with language—from telling a captivating story to knowing the rules of grammar. When not working on her own projects, she is an active speaker, workshop leader, and fiction editor. Learn more at https://kris-spisak.com