Editing
Editing the anthology In The Fullness of Time: 32 Women on Life After 50 was an opportunity to work with many voices around a central theme. Whether I work on fiction or nonfiction, with individuals or in workshops, my aim is to bring clarity to a sentence, to the page, and ultimately to the entire work. I see my job as midwife to a project to shape and refine structure, style, and content and to help writers realize their intentions.
I welcome assignments from writers, editors, literary agents, and publishers. You can email me a 1-2-page description of the project, and we can discuss timing and fees.
Workshops
My emphasis is on helping writers become their own editors by developing the ability to stand back from their work, see it from the outside so they can deepen their themes and characters. Members of my workshops become aware of bad habits—the excesses and/or omissions-- we all have as writers. In a safe place they become more adventurous and more daring with their material.
I use as my model the painting classes I attended at the Arts Students League in New York. When it was time for the professor's critique, we left our own canvasses and stood behind the teachers, listening to them explain what worked and what didn't work—in their not so humble opinion. Being exposed to their critiques of the work of others was as valuable as hearing their views on our own paintings.
In my small group (never more than six people) each person receives a half-hour critique, which includes a line-edit. If desired, a writer can also solicit group reactions. If writers need more general discussion of the material, they can use their time that way rather than working on a line-edit that day. Workshops meet for four to five hours.
For more information on editing and workshops: lindagravenson@gmail.com
