Reading Assignments:

Formatting your Manuscript

1.) Format Your Novel For Submission – by Beth Hill
2.) How Many Words in a Book? – by Jerry Jenkins
3.) How many words in a novel? Average word count for books by genre – by Jon Reed

Critique

1.) Overcoming the Preciousness of Your Prose – by F.E. Choe
2.) 17 Questions for Critique Partners – by K.M. Weiland
3.) How to Critique Other Writers’ Work – by Melissa Donovan
4.) The Ultimate Fiction Critique Checklist – by Kathy Steffen
5.) Sensitivity reading 101: a guide for writers – by Lizzie Huxley-Jones
6.) Gut Check: Working with a Sensitivity Reader – Jane C. Hu

Editing Strategies

1.) Book Renovation – by N.K. Jemisin
2.) How to Reverse Outline Your Novel – by Hannah Bauman
3.) Evaluate Your Story With A Reverse Outline – by Jenni Chappelle
4.) Reverse Outlines: “Finding” your story during revisions – by Chelsea Abdullah
5.) Restructuring Your Novel –  by Phoebe Morgan
6.) What Do You Do When Your Book is Too Long – by K.J. Charles
7.) What is pacing in writing? Mastering pace – by Bridget McNulty
8.) Pacing in Writing: 10 Powerful Ways to Keep Readers Hooked – by Reedsy
9.) Wait! 5 Novel Editing Questions to Ask Before Your Book Is Actually Done! – by Kris Spisak
10.)  Writing With Color – by Colette, Alice, Jessica, & Lesya (A blog dedicated to writing and resources centered on racial & ethnic diversity. We share writing advice, guides, book recs, and more. The link here takes you to their FAQ page. Check out the links at the top for more resources, and see their guidelines for asking other questions if you have them.) 

__________________________________________________

Writing Assignments:

1.) Create a reverse outline for your novel. Since doing this will take a long time, concentrate on doing a top level outline for the whole novel and go into scene specific details for the first few chapters as time allows. You can go back later and finish your reverse outline when you have more time.  
2.) Answer these basic questions for yourself: Does your novel fit the basic criteria for the genre you’re writing in? Is it’s word count in the right ballpark? Is the pacing about right? Make note of what needs to change.

__________________________________________________

Class Discussion:

1.) Discuss the articles you read. Where there any that were more helpful than others? List 1-2 things you learned that maybe you hadn’t known or thought of before. This is also a good place to reintroduce yourself, if necessary. 

Getting in the Mood:

1.) ADD CONTENT HERE – WHAT COULD BE AN IN-CLASS EXERCISE FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES?!?!?!
2.) Split into smaller groups, if necessary. Each person gets a chance to read their 15 minutes of writing. 
3.) After each person reads, others give feedback: a) What worked? b) What needs more work? Be as specific as you can.

Group Assignments:

1.) In small groups, read through your reverse outlines. Do your best to critique the pacing, length, story arc, and character arcs. Remember, take notes on what everyone says, but note that you do not have to use or agree with the feedback you receive.