Novel Revision Retreats
Retreat Recommended by
Kirby Larson, 2007 Newbery Honor Winner
” I didn’t know anything about revising until I took Darcy’s Novel Revision Retreat. I finally ‘got it’ that reworking a manuscript is not revising. To revise something means to re-vision it, to see it through a new lens. The workshop and the Novel Metamorphosis workbook moved me from wordsmith to novel writer.”
Kirby Larson (www.kirbylarson.com), author of Hattie Big Sky, winner of the 2007 Newbery Honor Book Award (the highest award given to children’s novels by the American Library Association). Kirby had been writing for nearly 20 years and had published four chapter books and a picture book before writing, and revising, Hattie Big Sky (Delacorte). This story sold in ten-days-flat to the first editor who saw it.
Retreat Recommended by
Barbara Seuling, Author and Writing Teacher
“I found many books useful, but I found your NOVEL METAMORPHOSIS absolutely the best for a workshop. For the first time in 18 years of doing The Manuscript Workshop in Vermont, I offered one this year for novels – for those who had a first draft or more that needed revision. The most interesting session was the one where we dealt with the Shrunken Manuscript, and we were all really impressed about how much we learned from this hands on activity.”
Barbara Seuling, Director
The Manuscript Workshop in Vermont www.barbaraseuling.com
The Novel Revision Retreat
After nine years as the conference director for the Arkansas SCBWI, I realized that the hardest thing to get help with is a novel. Most conferences are one-day events in which many different topics are covered briefly. Yet, year after year, someone would hold out a novel and ask, “What do you think of this?” Finally, there is a format in which this question can be answered!
The Goal of the Novel Revision Retreat: Every author will go home with strategies for revising their own particular novel.
The retreat is designed for maximum participation and advance preparation is required.
I Believe in Your Story
SPEAKER, TEACHER and AUTHOR, DARCY PATTISON
In 1999, speaker, teacher and author Darcy Pattison created the Novel Revision Retreat to meet the needs of struggling novelists. Since then, her passionate teaching has motivated writers nationwide as she encouraged them, “I believe in your story.”
- Teaching. Her teaching has taken to events around the nation: Hawaii, California, Washington, Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana and many other places.
- Blog. Her blog, Fiction Notes, which gives writing tips and discusses writing techniques, receives over 150,000 visitors per year.
| 2k11 and 2k12 DEBUT NOVELISTS Talk about the Novel Revision Retreat |
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Darcy Pattison’s shrunken manuscript technique for analyzing the overall flow and pacing of my novel was the single most helpful tip I have ever picked up at a workshop. Highly recommended! –Carole Estby Dagg
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My initial reaction after finishing a first draft is to ask myself “Now What?” That question is answered and then some in Darcy’s novel revision retreats (I’ve done two so far). The large group sessions where Darcy discusses things like character, plot, setting and word choice help you wrap your brain around where your novel needs work. The break-out sessions with your critique group help you apply Darcy’s revision principles to your specific story. In the end, you walk away with a clear picture of how to take your novel apart and put it back together in a way that will make it a much stronger story. Hanging out with Darcy and other writers who are in your shoes is a big bonus too! –Christina Mandelski
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Darcy gets you to see through your own words to find the heart and bones of – Sue Cowing
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I revised a manuscript for an editor at Scholastic before it was accepted. His offer letter said, “The ability to have such insight about one’s own work is as rare as the talent to generate a fun and meaningful story.” Darcy Pattison taught me how to look at my own work with a powerful set of tools for considering voice, structure, action, sensory detail, and more. It always feels magical to make a story better, but it’s not magic. It’s a matter of understanding and using the tools we writers have. Darcy built the toolbox for us with her blog, her workshops, and her book, Novel Metamorphosis. We still have to do the heavy lifting, but we’re not doing it alone. — Martha Brockenbrough Martha Brockenbrough http://marthabrockenbrough.com |
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Darcy Pattison’s shrunken manuscript technique pushed me to see my book in its entirety — what was working and what needed to change. On the micro level, I appreciated Darcy’s emphasis on imagery and the senses — particularly taste, touch, and smell — which bring to a story texture and depth.
COMING IN 2012: MAY B. (Schwartz and Wade/Random House Children’s Books) |
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A Peek at a Retreat |
The Year We Were Famous
THE SWEETEST THING, Egmont USA, May 2011
YOU WILL CALL ME DROG, Carolrhoda, September 2011.
Typical Retreat Schedule
A typical retreat schedule includes these sessions:
- Inventory
- Plotting: Macro to Micro
- Plotting
- Writing in Scenes
- Sensory Details
- Language
- Characterization and Dialogue
- Setting
- Character & Setting
- Adding Depth and Layers
- Making Voice a Conscious Decision
- Your Plan of Action
Want to Attend a Retreat, but Can’t?
Novel Metamorphosis: UnCommon Ways to Revise is the workbook for the retreat, the next best thing to being there. Order from Amazon.
Speaking at Other Events
Conference, Convention, Reading Council, or Professional Development
At the National Council of Teachers of English national convention, I spoke about “The Mask of a Novelist.”
At the SCBWI Annual Conference in LA, 2004, I spoke on “Demystifying Voice” and “Novel Revision.”
I speak with librarians and teachers on Writing with Children in professional developments or informal settings. Topics include:
- Social Media for Writers and illustrators
- Using the Hero’s Journey to Develop Character
- A Character’s Inner Life
- Hands-on Voice Activities
- The writing process
- Prewriting activities
- expository, descriptive, narrative, or persuasive essays
- 6 Trait Writing
