A 2 Week Fiction, Nonfiction, Memoir, YA/Middle Grade Workshop
Wed May 17 & Wed May 24
ALL LEVELS
Noticing and dismissing needless words will make your prose clearer, more musical, and often more accommodating of your wilder, wordier fugues. Through demonstrations and exercises, we’ll practice spotting pleonasms, corporate-flavored pomposities, and general fluff. We’ll hear how different remedies strike the ear and subtly recalibrate your narrator’s character—and consider how much ruthless efficiency is too much. If you wish, you may submit a page or two of your own prose for workshopping. Maybe the tools we’ll play with are already your old favorites (prefer English to Latin, swap out adjective-noun combos for specific nouns, liberate subordinates, reconsider passive voice, etc.). Or maybe this kind of revision is a new grade of sandpaper for you. Either way, a workshop’s worth of consciousness-raising may make you a better editor of your own writing—and your friends’!
+SUBMIT: By May 10, email two or three pages of a work in progress to programs@mainewriters.org with the subject line “Burnes editing workshop.” Please note at the top whether you would like to have them workshopped by the group or used only for Gillian’s reference.
+ PLEASE NOTE This workshop will occur online via Zoom. Students do not need to create an account to participate, but should test out Zoom before their class if they are first-time users. On Thursday, May 11th, from 5:30pm to 6:00pm, MWPA staff will offer a tech help session on Zoom. Students are encouraged to attend the tech help session, which usually takes only 5-10 minutes, if they have any tech concerns, use Zoom infrequently, or simply would like to test their connection, and those who do not are responsible for ensuring that they are able to use Zoom on their own. The week of the workshop, students will be emailed a link that they may click to enter the test session and the class.
+ REQUIRED EQUIPMENT A reliable, fast internet connection (broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE), speakers & a microphone (built-in or USB plug-in), and a webcam (built-in or USB plug-in).
If you would like to quickly and easily test your internet connection and your computer’s compatibility with Zoom, click HERE. Full details on supported Operating Systems, internet browsers, and more can be found HERE. To download and familiarize yourself with Zoom, click HERE.
Over her twenty-five years as a copy editor, Gillian Burnes has fine-tuned prose at Outside, Skiing, Teton Gravity Research, Ode, and numerous other magazines. She holds an M.A. in English Literature from the University of Delaware and studied journalism at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. Her short stories have appeared in Glimmer Train, Split Lip, and The Dillydoun Review, and her novel, Soft Features, was one of the MWPA’s 2022 Exciting Debuts.
ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED
All MWPA workshops require advanced registration. We accept registration by phone, mail, and online via our website. We cannot guarantee registration in the final 24-hours before a workshop, and can rarely accommodate day-of registration.
PAYMENT & CANCELLATION POLICIES
If you need to withdraw from a class after registering for any reason, please email or call the MWPA immediately. You may be eligible for a partial refund or credit, depending on how far in advance you cancel. → MORE INFORMATION
QUESTIONS
For any questions regarding this workshop, please contact Meghan Sterling at programs@mainewriters.org.
REGISTER BY PHONE
Call 207-228-8263 and register with your VISA or MasterCard.
REGISTER BY MAIL
If you prefer to pay by mail, please print this registration form (downloadable PDF) and mail it to the MWPA with a check or credit card information.
$75 Members / $110 Nonmembers
SCHOLARSHIP
The MWPA is proud to offer one full scholarship to this workshop for members-only. Scholarships are awarded on a combination of need and merit. Contact Meghan at programs@mainewriters.org to see if the scholarship is still available. Application Due on May 3rd at 9:00 a.m.
→ MORE INFORMATION
MWPA WORKSHOP POLICIES
Registration in any MWPA workshop, program, or event constitutes your agreement to our terms and conditions. → MORE INFORMATION