A lesson I'm learning early on my journey as a writer is to continually seek ways to improve my craft. During the last year, I've enroll in several online writing classes and webinars. Last summer, I stumbled upon the Web site for The Christian Proofreaders and Editors Network (PEN) and discovered this organization offers courses beneficial to not only proofreaders and editors, but also writers.I'd like to share information about one of the classes I took last year--Editing Fiction. This class, taught by freelance editor Jeanne Marie Leach, teaches participants about the fundamental techniques of good fiction writing, including opening hooks, Point of View (POV), plot development, character development and emotions, proper dialogue, showing vs. telling, active vs. passive writing, and overused words.
As part of this five-week class, participants receive weekly lessons and are assigned homework, which they submit to the instructor and other participants for review. I particularly found the homework assignments to be one of the most valuable parts of the class. These assignments allowed me to apply what I learned during the week's lesson, and the feedback I received from the instructor helped me identify my strengths and weaknesses with each of the techniques explored. In addition, the discussions among the participants and the instructor expanded my understanding of these techniques.
I would highly recommend this class for beginning writers.
The Christian PEN is offering this class from July 19 to August 16. Cost for the class varies depending upon your membership status, ranging from $60 to $90. For more information, please see the course description on The Christian PEN's Web site.
