Revising Like an Editor, with Michael Mercurio
One of the hardest parts of the revision process is knowing when a piece is done. How can you tell when it’s ready to send to an editor? In this workshop we will practice reading our own work with an editor’s eye for improvement, and we’ll practice some easy nuts-and-bolts ways to kickstart your revisions. You can expect to gain confidence as a critical reader of your own writing, and discover the playful, joyful side of revision. (No, really!) We’ll get deep into the work that our verbs are doing, figure out how much is too much when it comes to details, and maybe learn how to surprise ourselves. Plus we’ll talk about that classic piece of writing advice — “Kill your darlings!” — and decide whether it’s time to kill that, too. Bring a brief piece of your own writing (500 words or so) that you’d like to improve, and we’ll run some experiments on it.
Saturday, June 19, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ($75)
Michael Mercurio, MFA, lives and writes in the Pioneer Valley, where he serves on the steering committee for the Tell It Slant Poetry Festival (formerly Amherst Poetry Festival) and is the associate editor of the Naugatuck River Review. A graduate of the Lesley University low-res MFA program, his poetry has been published in Rust + Moth, Crab Creek Review, and The Indianapolis Review, and is forthcoming in Sugar House Review and Palette Poetry. Michael also has had critical reviews published in The Lily Poetry Review.
