For prose writers, whether developing a short story, novel or memoir, this workshop will instil in you the lessons Noel has learned on his journey to becoming a published author, as well as from his years as an editor of both fiction and non-fiction. What do you do once the first draft is finished? What is it that makes a good editor, and how can you bring that to your own work? What are the common mistakes writers make, on both a macro and a micro level? The aim of the workshop is to help you develop more of an editor’s eye to bring to your work in the future.
What the workshop covers
The workshop will begin with a writing exercise that provides a brief introduction to story structure and theory. Following this will be a mix of writing and editing exercises, as well as a close reading of drafts versus finalised work. The participants will be led through the process of getting a manuscript – regardless of form or length – from first to final draft. Noel will outline the common editorial issues that arise during this process, and how to avoid them. This will shift from the consideration of macro issues (i.e. common structural and developmental faults with a text) to more micro-level issues, such as those found on a sentence level.
Workshop leader
Noel O’Regan is a writer from Tralee, Co. Kerry. He is the recipient of an Arts Council Next Generation Artist Award and is a former Kerry County Council writer in residence. His debut novel, Though the Bodies Fall (Granta Books), was published in August 2023. As an editor, he has worked for a number of years on a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books. Titles he has provided editorial feedback on have won awards ranging from the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, the Dalkey Emerging Writer Prize and the Eason Book of the Year.
