So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads. – Dr. Seuss
Contributed by Write On, Door County
If you live with an avid gardener – or if you are one yourself – you know this time of year can be, well, a little exhausting. The joy of watching plants thrive is diminishing as the blooming cycle comes to an end for the summer and the fall plants have yet to bud. The plants are becoming leggy, one growing into the next, everything becoming a mass of barely recognizable green. They need to be thinned out, some much-loved plants removed entirely in order to maintain the peace and beauty of the garden.
Weeding Words
Writers encounter that same sense of exhaustion after working for months on a draft and then needing to face the fact that there’s just too much there. Just like those plants, sentences can grow and expand and obscure the writer’s original intention. Like the gardener who believes there’s always room for one more plant, the writer believes there’s room for one more thought, one more brilliant idea.
Kill Your Darlings
Most writers know the phrase kill your darlings: Take out those words, sentences, paragraphs, that you loved when you wrote them. It’s like pulling out beautiful flowers by the roots. It’s challenging, but we can help. There’s still room in Monday’s intensive with Michael Kleber-Diggs After the Initial Draft: Revision as Poetic Practice. In late October, we are excited to present a two-day Revision Boot Camp with multigenre writers Elmaz Abinader and Faith Adiele. In between, there are plenty of other opportunities to learn the art of writing and editing, both in person at the center and online. Revising and editing don’t need to be exhausting tasks. They can be part of a joyful creative process.
Write Where You Are
Whether you live five minutes down the road or five hundred miles away, we welcome you to take part in our learning opportunities. We are adding more online classes to make it easier for you to participate.
After the Initial Draft: Revision as Poetic Practice with Michael Kleber-Diggs
Monday, August 7, 9 am – 4 pm
Discover how poems progress from first draft to a piece that is “ready” with award-winning poet Michael Kleber-Diggs.
Debwe: Welcoming Others In with Staci Lola Drouillard
Tuesday, August 8, 9 am – 4 pm
Explore how to write about real people and events in ways that make room for others.
NEW! Characters: How to Make Them Pop Off the Page with June Melby
Saturday, August 19, noon – 2 pm
How can you describe a character so that readers will not just see them, but feel their presence? For both fiction and nonfiction writers.
One Book’s Journey with Joanne Nelson
Wednesday, August 30, noon – 1 pm; online
The final installment in Joanne’s book’s journey from accepted manuscript to published essay collection.
More Grammar for Writers with Tara daPra
Saturdays, September 9 and 16, 11 am – noon; online
Learn how choices of syntax and diction create a writer’s voice while also brushing up on common grammar foibles.
NEW! Memory, Meaning, and Metaphor in Memoir with Anika Fajardo
Tuesday, September 12, 6 – 8 pm; online
Dig deeper into personal experience to find the kernels of truth that make personal stories memorable.