Yesterday author, tutor and editor, Patricia O’Reilly, taught a workshop for our members about how to successfully edit your work. Before the workshop I think many of us thought that editing was only correcting spelling mistakes and adding punctuation. But we learned that it is as important to look at the structure of any piece of work and whether the characters and setting are believable as it is to correct grammar. We left with many things to think about. Are we showing or telling? Is our dialogue used effectively? Are we making use of all five senses in our writing? Are our sentences dynamic?

Patricia provided us with valuable guidance to help us improve our work. Now it’s up to us to make use of the knowledge we gained.