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 If you missed yesterday’s online workshop

reviewing Clare Mackintosh’s novel I SEE YOU, you can catch up, by watching the video.

This RedPen Training session was the first of four FREE online writers’ workshops. The next one is on Saturday 5 August, 12 noon until 3 pm (yes, 3 hours, but with comfort breaks scheduled in). Book your seat here.

What we looked for in I SEE YOU

Ahead of the first workshop, I asked everyone to read as far as page 50 and I set 10 questions on those first few chapters.

1. Which characters have you met?
2. What locations are important to the story?
3. What have you noticed about Clare’s use of POV?
4. What person/tense is used?
5. Thinking of balance and structure – what have you noticed so far about Clare’s structure?
6. Thinking of balance and structure – what have you noticed so far about how Clare is achieving balance.
7. Look out for examples of how Clare shows instead of telling.
8. Look out for examples of props.
9. What messages are you getting i.e. what are you ‘learning’ about life through reading Clare’s words?
10. What ‘themes’ is Clare developing?

During the workshop, comments on those questions were collected with this Facebook group.

Applying the RedPen Editing process to planning as well as editing

The RedPen Editing process is explained in detail in my book EDITING The RedPen Way: 10 Steps to Successful Self-Editing.

I’m using this review of Clare Mackintosh’s I SEE YOU to demonstrate steps 4 to 7 of the RedPen Editing cycle.

• Step 4: Study the content
• Step 5: Using the right tense?
• Step 6: Speaking in the right voice?
• Step 7: Check structure and balance

I recommend you buy the book – it’s only £2.99 – but if you’d just like a copy of the diagram, for now, click here.

What’s planned for Session 2?

To make the most of Session 2, you need to have read as far as page 194.

We’ve already looked at ZOE and KELLY. In Session 2, we’ll add to the fact lists for these two and start looking at the ‘suspects’.

We will identify the main twists and turns, and the obstacles put in the path of progress in solving this mystery.

Between now and then, and afterward, the discussion can continue within the Facebook group.

Would these RedPen Training workshops be useful for you?

The focus was from two standpoints:

• A writer who is planning a new novel from scratch, and is trying to write an outline
• A writer who has a draft novel that needs editing, and now needs to look at the BIG picture

We had a mix of writers attending yesterday. Some, I know, are actively prepping for NaNo 2017, myself included. Others are in possession of stories or novels which look finished but need editing.

Where does Scrivener fit into this review of I SEE YOU?

I set up a Scrivener project as if I were outlining I SEE YOU ahead of NaNOWriMo 2017. Using this Scrivener project, I can demonstrate the process of outlining, using meta data, looking at a novel from lots of different angles, and be planning as much as possible ahead of 1 November when the writing would start for real.

I showed glimpses of this Scrivener project in yesterday’s session and will do the same next Saturday.

However, not everyone who attends these RedPen workshops is using Scrivener … but everyone is welcome to book a  Simply Scrivener Special at which I could demonstrate the whole process from start to finish.

I post occasionally on RedPen topics within the ScrivenerVirgin blog.
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Also … check out the RedPen Editing Tips
on my ScrivenerVirgin Facebook page.