Online Events for Writers
The best online events for writers of fiction, poetry, and memoir.
Learn. Connect. Grow.
Post your events on social media using the hashtag #valleyofwritersevents to get onto our radar. All times are US Eastern Time.
- This event has passed.
FREE | How to improve that S****y First Draft
December 8, 2021 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm EST
Free
About this event
How This Workshop Will Help You
You realize you’ll have to revise your early drafts, but how do you do it? Is there a system to make it easier? I think there is, and I’ll share it with you. We’ll discuss the issue of revision on both a Micro and Macro level. The idea is to consider all the possibilities. It’s not enough to look for typos and factual errors if you want your writing to shine.
What You’ll Learn
• The difference between revising and niggling.
• Why emotional distance is so important
• When it’s time (and what it means) to “Kill your darlings”
• How a checklist can help you tackle revisions
• How to revise sentences, paragraphs, and chapters
• What to do when your plot or characters are just not right
• How to decide when it’s time to stop revising
What We’ll Do in the Workshop
• Define the Micro and Macro issues of revision
• Discuss how to set up your first drafts to make revising easier
• Look at original / revised sentences and discuss the changes
• Practice revising sentences and paragraphs
• Practice revising the structure/arc of a story
Who Should Attend
• Writers with a finished/nearly finished draft
• Writers who want to make better decisions in their early drafts
• Experienced writers open to a new twist on what they may already know.
About Myra
Myra Levine is on a mission: to make sure that nobody dies with their story still inside them. She shows people how to turn their memories into interesting stories—even novels—with techniques not taught in school. And her classes are FUN. To Myra, writing isn’t about grammar or spelling or knowing where to put the commas; it’s about capturing a moment in a way that brings it to life. As a writing coach, she challenges her clients to dig deeper into their lives to find the germ of an idea that will become a great story, or a dozen great stories, or a terrific novel. Her favorite students fall into two categories: people who are sure they can’t write, and people who are sure they can!
Before turning to fiction, Myra spent decades writing television and radio scripts, instructional videos, and corporate marketing programs. She won many local and regional advertising awards before leaving corporate life to become a wife and mother of two adopted kids. Stay-at-home-motherhood rekindled her ambition to write fiction.
As Myra puts it, “If you turn the truth into fiction, you’re less likely to get sued.”
Myra’s new novel, The Dead Mothers’ Club, was just released in May 2020. This book and her first, Revenge of the Soccer Moms, are available on Amazon.com in print and e-book.
…
Please note:
The Valley of Writers team scours the web looking for the most inspiring, elevating, and accessible events that we can share as a service to our readers.
The big idea is that in a virtual arena, more people can participate. Geographical boundaries matter less.
The events we list are virtual and can be attended by writers from wherever they are in the world.
Unless otherwise stated, we are not affiliated with and do not benefit financially from the events we post. Listing is not an endorsement of the content, opinions, or products promoted by the event organizers we feature here.
Please verify all dates, times and other event details as these are subject to change and are beyond our control.
What qualifies an event as ‘lit’? Any event that we think would teach writers of fiction, memoir, and poetry useful skills, inspire them to produce great work, remind them of the power of this work we do and build stronger, mutually beneficial ties between writers and other creatives.
