Self-editing is not easy, but with this course, you’ll develop a system of tools and techniques that will help you craft stories readers can’t put down while also elevating and polishing your prose. Across 13 lessons, you and your red pen will master the stages of the developmental editing and line editing processes. You’ll learn how to move from the big picture to the little picture with your edits. And you’ll build a custom toolbox for evaluating your own work with an editor’s eye.
This course is targeted to fiction writers, but if you’re telling a true story about real people and events using the stylistic elements of fiction, such as scenes and dialogue, you’re also in the right place. With this course, you’ll discover how effective editing will take your stories from good to unforgettable.
Author(s): Molly McCowan
Series: The Great Courses
Publisher: The Teaching Company
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 122
City: Chantilly
Introduction
About Molly McCowan
Scope
Guides
Lesson 1—Understanding the Four Levels of Editing
Developmental Editing
Line Editing
Copyediting
Proofreading
Lesson 2—Planning Your Edit
Let Your Work Rest
Read Widely for Inspiration
Join a Critique Group
Learn How to Give Feedback
Gain Perspective
Lesson 3—Editing for Plot and Structure
Story Beats
Save the Cat! Beats
Editing with a Beat Sheet
Lesson 4—Editing for Dynamic Characters
The Protagonist Test
Adding Conflict
Characterization
Secondary Characters
Lesson 5—Tackling Point of View
Types of Point of View
Slipping
Head-Hopping
Filtering
Lesson 6—Page-Turner Pacing: Scene versus Narration
The Sagging Middle
Infodumping
Editing Infodumps
Narrative Bridges
Slowing Down Your Pacing
Speeding Up Your Pacing
Lesson 7—Building Stronger Scenes
Marking Scenes
Cutting Scenes
Putting Your Scenes to the Test
Putting Your Book Back Together
Lesson 8—Showing versus Telling: Beyond the Basics
Showing and Telling
Telling Words
Lesson 9—Dialogue That Sparkles
Overexplaining and Infodumps
Conflict and Action
Dialogue Tags
Contractions
Interior Monologue
Lesson 10—Sentences That Sizzle
Writing for Your Ideal Reader
Adverbs
Adjectives
Character Descriptions
Helping Verbs and Participial Phrases
Lesson 11—Pruning Your Prose
Unnecessary Words
Qualifiers
Redundancy
Keeping Your Writing Real
Clichés
Exclamation Points and Italics
Rhythm
Repetition
Lesson 12—When to Ignore the Grammar Rules
Passive Voice
Sentence Fragments
Ending a Sentence with a Preposition
Split Infinitives
Starting a Sentence with a Conjunction
Lesson 13—Beyond the Red Pen: What Comes Next
Traditional Publishing
Self-Publishing
Beta Readers
How to Find an Editor
Hiring an Editor
Supplementary Material
Save the Cat! Beat Sheet
Character Transformation
Character Voice Journal
Building a Backstory
Editor Directories
Bibliography
