New Class 8-28-18 through 11-6-18

“Writing is revision” — I think it was Hemingway who said that, and that’s what my latest writing class is about.  Rewriting is what separates the men from the boys and the women from the girls in the world of writing. Ask any author, though lots of writers moan a lot when I remind them of this.  They’d prefer to write something, set it aside, then write something else.  :- )

I’m happy to say I am starting a 10-week Let’s Write! writing/editing class at the Finley Community Center in Santa Rosa, CA, Tuesday 8/28/18 through 11/6/18 (with a week off in between), 2 to 4 pm.  Registration will be open until Sept 4th as a courtesy of the Finley Center, since they had the class times listed incorrectly for about a month.

It will be a departure from my usual classes and more advanced in that in the other classes I taught writing and edited the students’ work; but in this class, I will focus on teaching the art of editing, with the students editing their own work at home in between classes, using what they’ve learned, and hopefully saved in their notes, during each of the 2-hour classes.

While in class, students will pair up and edit each other’s work each week, and I myself will take turns in each group throughout the 10 weeks for hands-on direct editing of their projects.

When we’re finished, those who wish to will submit their manuscripts for publication to a Let’s Write! Anthology (main title is yet to be determined). Then, as editor, if the piece is publication-ready without too much editing necessary on my part, I will include it in the anthology.  Of course, each writer keeps all rights to his or her own work and remains free to publish it whenever they like.

And even if a piece is deemed not publication-ready, or if the student decides he or she would rather not publish, the 10 weeks will still be invaluable time spent, gathering experience editing their own work, which a real writer must learn to do.  

Even if a writer hires a professional editor such as myself to fine-tune his work, a manuscript which needs editing on too basic a level will either be denied, or the writer will be charged a much higher fee than normal. So this is an important and necessary skill for every writer to learn and, as with piano lessons or baseball, practice makes perfect.  :- )

Author: Valerie Serrano

Valerie Serrano has a master of fine arts degree in creative writing and a bachelor of arts in psychology. Valerie taught English and writing in New York for seven years (1996-2003), and has been teaching creative writing classes online through www.LetsWrite.com and in Santa Rosa, California, where she now resides, since 2012. Her small business is called Let's Write! from which she also offers editing, self-publishing help, and more (such as motivation to good but scared writers). Val loves every minute of it, especially when students have the gumption to take their writing from first (very) rough draft to (self) published. Valerie has self-published her own novel called The Archangel of Hamilton Beach and a children’s picture book, Horses Talk Funny, both available on Amazon and via her blog. Val loves to say: So, Let's Write! View all posts by Valerie Serrano