REAL TIME REVISION
Revise Your Manuscript!
for Novelists, Screenwriters, and Memoirists
New Dates are coming soon
"The only kind of writing is rewriting." ~ Hemingway
Registration Required ~ Limit of 6 Writers
Course Fee: US$1,250
lmost every writer since Hemingway has paraphrased his saying, "The only kind of writing is rewriting." If you have crossed the much anticipated threshold of completing a first draft, you stand at the edge of a vast new landscape: the region of revision. Some writers love it, some writers hate it, and all writers have to go through it.
This 6-month course will give you tools and a plan to get you from first draft to revised draft and onward to polished draft. Ideal for writers with a completed first draft but will also benefit all writers looking ahead to the revision process.
New dates coming soon
Who is this class for?
You have a first (or 2nd, 3rd--or 9th) draft
Revising can seem endless. Wasn't the hard part just getting the words down on paper? Subsequent drafts can be just as much if not more work. Many writers struggle with revisions because they don't realize that organization is the key to the revision process.
You really want a finished, polished draft
Revisions don't happen on their own. They take time , attention, and planning. Everything that needs doing can feel overwhelming and writers can feel lost as they ricochet between the macro and micro demands of their stories. The revision process follows a progression of tasks that lead from first draft to final draft.
You don't know how to get from A to B
Writers feel most like writers when they are making things up. But revision requires you to work with what you've got, and this can make the process feel more like carpentry, or plumbing, or lice-combing, or... just about anything that doesn't feel as fun as writing. Revision resistance has more to do with having a limited understanding of what's required to fulfill the criteria of completion, but this can be learned (and even loved).
You're ready to do what it takes to get to the next step
Writers are usually aiming for one of several outcomes when it comes to drafting and revising: Either they want to share their manuscript with friends and family; or they want to query agents and editors at publishing houses; or else they want a manuscript that they can feel proud to publish themselves. These are all worthy and desirable next steps. But such successful outcomes are out of reach without a properly revised manuscript.
Face the Madness. Find the Magic.
At each stage of the revision process it's easy to give up.
Revising a manuscript is as demanding a journey as writing it in the first place. There will be many moments when you will want to give up. A lot of first drafts that end up foundering in drawers, closets, and computer files simply had trouble crossing the next revision threshold. When setting out to revise a manuscript, it's important to plan your strategy, pace your progress, and persist in your endeavor. I also think it's important to invoke a sense of play. Yes, play.
If you associate all the fun and creativity with drafting the story, you will never enjoy the follow-through components of writing, which could mean those drafts stay drafts and never become light-of-day novels or screenplays or memoirs.
This program will provide tools, tasks, and templates for navigating your own revision process. Wherever you happen to be in this process now, you will be at least one step closer to your final draft after this program.
REAL TIME REVISION
After appreciating and acknowledging that you've actually finished a draft (yay, you!), you'll spend some time organizing and assessing the manuscript in order to prepare for the revision process. Once ready, you will be guided through the Macro and Micro Elements of Revision.
MACRO ELEMENTS OF REVISION
Point of View
Tenses
Timeline
Structure
Plot
Character
Scenes & Summary
Dialogue
MICRO ELEMENTS OF REVISION
Theme & Imagery
Overall Tone & Style
Sentences & Punctuation
Spacing & Formatting
Once the manuscript revision work has been complete, time will be spent on planning the next steps to get the work out in the world. This includes finding beta readers, writing queries and synopses, and considering traditional or independent options to publishing.
THE COURSE IN "REAL TIME"
This course expects you to be able to schedule approximately 2 to 3 hours per day to work on your manuscript. Ideally, you can work 4, 5 or 6 days out of each week.
Everyone works a bit differently, and at a different pace, so you’ll have to assess your own life situation and work habits, but this proposed schedule should be realistic and generous enough to allow you to complete the revision process within 6 months.
Module lessons are supported by weekly coaching support.
Weeks 1, 2 & 3:
PREPARATION & ASSESSMENT~ Preparing the Psyche & the Project (3 weeks)
Week 4:
MACRO ELEMENTS~ POV, Tenses, Timeline (1 week)
Weeks 5 thru 10:
MACRO ELEMENTS~Structure, Plot, Character (6 weeks)
Week 11 thru 18
MACRO ELEMENTS~Scenes, Summary, Dialogue (8 weeks)
Week 19, 20 & 21:
MICRO ELEMENTS~Theme, Imagery, Overall Tone & Style (3 week)
Week 22:
MICRO ELEMENTS~Sentences, Punctuation, Visual Spacing & Formatting (1 week)
Week 23 & 24:
COMPLETION & NEXT STEPS~ Beta Readers, Synopses, Queries, Publishing Options (2 weeks)
plus one wrap up meeting
Are you ready to revise your manuscript?...
What Previous Participants Have to Say:
"...you will come away inspired..."
“I highly recommend April's classes. You will come away inspired and with strategies you will use throughout your writing career.
~ Jude Walsh, Dayton, Ohio
"...guidance and insight..."
"Were it not for April’s instruction, guidance and insight, my novel, Grant of Immunity would not exist. Her comments and analysis helped me craft my words into a credible and cohesive story."
~ Garret Holms, Los Angeles, CA
"...invaluable insights..."
"April's devotion to clarity and deeper pursuit of writing gave me invaluable insights into improving my writing and making my characters come alive. She has a gentle and relaxed style in presenting her inspiring knowledge. I highly recommend her workshops.”
~ Tinni Zacco, Vancouver
"...clear and practical..."
"April has an exceptional ability to make the concepts of story design clear and practical. She is a passionate instructor with a firm grounding in the complex aspects of building strong stories."
~ Stephanie Innes, Vancouver, BC
"April Bosshard is a story genie."
“For many writers, getting the words down on paper is the easy part. Understanding how to tell a story is the bit that confounds us. April Bosshard is a story genie. In her story design workshop, you will learn the best way to structure your narrative for maximum impact and how exactly to tame an unruly plot. Highly recommended.”
~ Anita Chaudhuri, London, UK
"...a remarkably deep understanding of story..."
"April is the deep of Deep Story Design. She is a gentle Story Whisperer, so talented at what she does, with a remarkably deep understanding of story and a way of embracing the whole room with her generous spirit.
~ Margo Lamont, Vancouver, BC
About April
April Bosshard has been referred to as a "story whisperer" and a "story genie” because of her keen awareness of story principles and deep understanding of the writer's craft. She’s helped hundreds of writers deal with the complex issues of story-creating and sticking to the writing process. She teaches workshops locally and internationally to help writers and filmmakers achieve their creative goals. More about April.
To contact April, please email: deepstorydesign@gmail.com