SEMINAR | Sharpen Your Prose: How to Be Your Own Editor
September 19 @ 2:00 pm – September 20 @ 3:30 pm EDT
Writers don’t always have the luxury of a great editor. But we can teach ourselves to examine our own prose through an editor’s lens.
Live on Zoom | Saturday & Sunday, September 19-20, 2026 | 2-3:30pm EDT
For Creative Nonfiction and Fiction Writers
For successful authors, “all writing is rewriting.” Most of the best work we’ll ever do happens not in first drafts but through the painstaking process of revision. But what exactly is revision? How do we approach what can feel like an intimidating and endless process? How can we truly make our drafts better (and not just different)? And where do we turn for feedback when we’re writing on our own?
Rather than focusing on big-picture or developmental editing, this class will focus on line-level techniques that reliably improve any piece of writing. We’ll discuss what makes individual sentences more impactful, how to trim bloated paragraphs, and the keys to maintaining a sense of immediacy that holds readers’ attention. Together, we’ll study examples of both first-draft writing and polished, published pieces, naming the differences and working out how to move from point A to point B. We’ll learn how to create our own feedback, moving from “author” to “editor” and back again.
By studying the work of others, we’ll begin seeing our own writing more objectively. After our first class, each participant will work on revising their own sentences, practicing new techniques. By the end of our second class, students will have acquired a set of revision practices that can be applied to any work-in-progress.
In this insightful weekend course, you will:
- LEARN techniques to view your writing more objectively
- READ examples of sharp prose and consider how they were revised
- PRACTICE revising your own work
- DISCOVER a set of revision practices you can apply to any work-in-progress
Schedule…
Saturday—We’ll start with the core skill of condensing prose: mediating language, shaping a true scene, and revising toward stronger verbs. You’ll read past student work and discuss how to tighten it, then turn to examples of sharp professional prose to see these techniques in action.
As a group, we’ll build a working list of line-level revision techniques you can apply to your own writing.
Homework: Revise an excerpt of your own work using the techniques from class.
Sunday—We’ll share revisions with the group and discuss what’s working and what could go further. You’ll gain new insight into your own editing by seeing others in action.
This seminar is ideal for writers who…
- can crank out a first draft but don’t know how to revise
- are working on their own without consistent feedback
- worry their sentences or page count may be bloated
- want to learn to think like an editor
- want to write sharper, tighter prose to capture the attention of readers
Closed captioning is available. ✔
Think you might miss class? No worries, replays will be available 3 business days after the final session. ✔
ABOUT YOUR Instructor
An encouraging, warm, and deeply knowledgeable instructor, Lindsey Deloach Jones holds a BA and MA in English and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction. She has taught creative writing at Clemson University and the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts & Humanities and served as Editor of Emrys Journal and Edible Upcountry.
Lindsey’s essays have been published in HuffPost, HuffPost Parenting, Split Lip, Under the Gum Tree, Motherwell, Paste, South Carolina Review, and Salvation South, among others. She is a recipient of the VanderMey Nonfiction Prize, and an essay nominated by Pigeon Pages was recently a finalist for Best of the Net.
Lindsey currently teaches writing online and in-person via WRITESHARE, the writers’ network she co-founded in Upstate SC, and for organizations such as Craft Talks. She is represented by Writers House.
Student Testimonials
“Lindsey is knowledgeable, well-prepared, and interacts well through the chat comments and questions, so the presentation is more of a conversation. So important!” Anne P.
“Lindsey is a very ‘user-friendly’ presenter. She takes such complex subjects and makes them accessible.” Laura R.
“I loved her creative topic, her examples, and her presentation. She did a great job of involving the attendees even though it was a virtual session. (Hard to do!) ” Sherrie D. V.
“Lindsey is so knowledgeable and articulate. I wish I could take her classes in person!” Melissa R.
THE FINE PRINT
We understand that life can get in the way of your plans. We want you to be able to get the most out of your course, and our refund policy is designed to balance your need for flexibility with our deadlines and obligations to our teachers.
Before the class, you may request a refund less a $10.00 processing fee.
Please keep in mind that no refunds or credits will be issued after class begins.
Questions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com
