My theory as a writing teacher this past year was this: getting my students to reflect on and talk about the revisions they were trying—to ask them to “get a little ‘meta’”—would help foster these identities and build a culture of revision in my classroom. (continue reading)
Your first draft is like a dark room and our questions can show you the parts we’re curious to know more about—the places to shine your flashlight. It’s your choice as a writer which questions tug at your pen the most, but choose one or two, and cast your beam in those dark corners. (continue reading)
I have a confession: I love to cut. Almost nothing pleases me more than to read through a manuscript and find entire chapters that can be placed under the guillotine (continue reading)
Let’s talk about Texas Chainsaw Massacre-style cuts – hacking off large sections of your manuscript to make it better. How do you know where to begin? (continue reading)