VIRTUAL
The Revision Lab: 2-Day Memoir & Essay Intensive
Struggling with a draft of a memoir chapter or personal essay? The Revision Lab is a two-day intensive where you'll revise your work-in-progress live, with step-by-step exercises and editorial guidance. You'll work on both big-picture revision—structure, stakes, and theme—and sentence-level craft like voice, clarity, and rhythm. Through craft talks, step-by-step exercises, and live demos, you'll learn to read your work with an editor's eye and apply that lens to your own pages. You'll also receive a brief editorial snapshot on three pages, with targeted feedback on what's working and what needs attention.
THE DETAILS
2 live classes via Zoom, February 28 and March 1, 11am - 2:30pm EST
Both sessions will be recorded (so you can sign up even if you can’t join live!)
In this intensive, you will:
LEARN
how to think like an editor and diagnose craft issues in your own writing.
SHAPE
your chapter or essay draft into a beautifully crafted narrative.
DISCOVER
the strengths and weaknesses in your draft through targeted editorial feedback and live editing demonstrations.
a roadmap for your revision, including a toolbox of strategies and revision exercises.
CREATE
BUILD
a virtual community of writers to help hold you accountable.
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• How to think like an editor & diagnose macro-level issues in your draft (1 hour)
• Hands-on Revision Lab: Guided exercises related to structure, story, theme, character, stakes (1.5 hours)
• Live editing and Q&A (1 hour) -
• Identifying issues with sentence craft (30 mins)
• Hands-on Polishing Lab: Guided exercises related to voice, sentence structure, word choice, sensory detail (2 hours)
• Live editing and Q&A (1 hour)
Meet the instructor:
Katie Bannon is a writer, editor, and educator whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Rumpus, ELLE, Newsweek, and more. A graduate of GrubStreet’s Memoir and Essay Incubators, she holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Emerson College. Her memoir manuscript was a finalist for the Permafrost Nonfiction Book Prize. She currently teaches writing at GrubStreet and lives in Central Massachusetts with her husband and two cats.
TESTIMONIALS
Cost Details
Which includes:
• 7 hours of instruction.
• A high-level editorial read of up to three double-spaced pages, with a brief written snapshot highlighting your strengths and revision opportunities.
• A workbook filled with step-by-step revision exercises, craft tools, and resources.
• Recordings of all sessions in case you can’t join live or want to rewatch.
$275 for the intensive
Optional add-ons:
Which includes:
• 1-hour Zoom coaching session (+$250) with the instructor to discuss craft challenges, revision strategies, and a personalized plan for your writing moving forward.
This intensive is for…
Writers who are in the process of drafting a memoir and/or a personal essay
Writers wanting to learn how to self-edit
Writers struggling with an individual chapter or essay and looking for hands-on guidance on how to make it stronger
Writers who are getting rejections and need insight into why a piece isn’t working
This intensive is not for…
Writers who are working on a fiction project
FAQs
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Not to worry! All sessions will be recorded, so you can participate at a time that’s convenient for you. Those recordings will be available for you to watch for 90 days after the intensive ends.
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Everyone who enrolls in the intensive will have the opportunity to submit up to three double-spaced pages of a memoir chapter or personal essay in advance. I’ll read each submission at a high level and provide a one-paragraph editorial snapshot by email, highlighting what’s working well and what could be improved.
During the intensive, I’ll also conduct live editorial demonstrations on a selection of participant pages so you can see how a developmental editor approaches revision in real time. If you’re interested in having your pages considered for live editing, you’ll be able to indicate that when you submit. I’ll select 8–10 pieces at random from those who opt in, with the goal of showcasing a range of common revision challenges so the discussion is broadly useful to the group. Whether or not your pages are edited live, you’ll gain practical tools and insight you can immediately apply to your own work!
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All you need to participate is a computer and internet. I’ll be sending a Zoom link ahead of our first class. We’ll be discussing the basics of Zoom and how to use it at the beginning of class.
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Please feel free to let me know about any accessibility needs you have (you’ll be prompted to answer this question as part of the checkout process). I am committed to making this an excellent and accessible experience for all!
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• 7 hours of instruction.
• A high-level editorial read of up to three double-spaced pages, with a brief written snapshot highlighting your strengths and key revision opportunities.
• A workbook filled with step-by-step revision exercises, craft tools, and resources.
• Recordings of all sessions in case you can’t join live or want to rewatch. -
• Editing and/or meetings with the instructor outside of the intensive.
• If you’re interested in adding on a one-on-one coaching session, click here. -
No portion of your class fee is refundable within 10 days of the class start date. Refunds will be sent within 30 days of receipt of notice of cancellation.
If the class needs to be cancelled for any reason (for instance due to low-enrollment, with fewer than 8 participants), you are entitled to a full refund.
The Revision Lab reserves the right to cancel the intensive in the event of civil unrest, natural disaster or Act of God. In the event of cancellation of the intensive in its entirety, you will receive a full refund of any fees paid. You agree to release The Revision Lab and its agents and/or representatives from any liability, including consequential expenses you may have incurred in planning to attend.
