A practical guide to self-editing and polishing your work
October 25 – 1 November, 2026
October 25 – 1 November, 2026
You have a piece of writing on the page (a short story, novel, essay, personal memoir), now the editing process begins.
This is how you start: writing is re-writing.
Day one: The situation & the story
This is an introduction to self-editing. What is the situation? What is going on? And what are you trying to say? We will be looking at ‘the story’ in your story. And asking: Do you think you’ve achieved what you set out to write about in your piece (fiction or non-fiction)?
Day two: The structure
A.K.A. the big picture. All editing issues mean nothing if your structure doesn’t work. We will look at identifying and solving problems to improve your narrative/structure. We will consider flow and cohesion, engagement and pacing, a character to remove or add, a plotline to develop further or change entirely. Taking care and making the correct choices is crucial in this process, but there are some tricks we’ll look at to make that easier.
Day three: The line
A.K.A. The smaller picture. Line editing is looking at the quality of the prose itself: is it clear, are there repetitions, does it ring true (dialogue especially). Copy editing will look at timeline issues, implausibilites and impossibilities. We will look at how to trim, and how to cut more substantively. We will embrace the virtues of succinctness and omission.
Day four: The chase
How do you know when to stop? This is the challenge of editing. You will be presented with a series of questions to help you find this out yourself.
Day five: The practice
We will look at a series of practical exercises in editing, focusing on: clarity of language, active voice, sentence structure, and tone.
Day six: The conference
For our final pass, we will workshop an extract of each other’s work, using the techniques we have built up during the week.
Course Tutor Susan Tomaselli
Susan is founder and editor of gorse literary journal. She has written for numerous publications, introduced a re-issue of Mervyn Wall’s Leaves For the Burning (Swan River Press), and has contributed to the books We’ll Never Have Paris (Repeater Books 2019), In Context 4 – In Our Time (South Dublin County Council’s programme of public art), amongst others. She has facilitated courses at the Irish Writers Centre and Arvon (UK). She has participated in numerous literary festivals (West Cork Literary Festival, Cúirt, Listowel, Mountains to Sea, Hillsborough Festival of Literature & Ideas), curated Doolin Writers’ Weekend 2020, and provides consultation to arts organisations (Temple Bar Gallery + Studios Dublin, The Arts Foundation UK) and literary publishers.
Susan was writer-in-residence at Maynooth University 2020/21, and is currently working working on Perspectives, an experimental aural portrait of Irish women artists
Practicalities
Course Length: One week. The week starts with a welcome introduction after you have settled in on Sunday evening, then wraps up with our open mic night on Saturday evening (7 nights).
Schedule: Morning: Teaching and one-to-one feedback sessions. Sessions can include excursions to a nearby market, chateau or other adventures. Writing/free time in the afternoon and early evening each day.
Travel Details:
Free pick-up (Sunday) and drop-off (Sunday) at:
- Saumur Station. Saumur is accessible by train from Nantes Atlantique International Airport, Tours airport and CDG airport in Paris.
Full details here.- Pick-up 17:15
- Drop-off 12:00 (or earlier if necessary)
- You can also take the train to Thouars, our nearest town, and we’ll collect you
- You can also drive. We’ll send directions and GPS coordinates.
Meals & Drinks: Misse is also home to the Loire Kitchen cooking school, so food is of a very high standard. Breakfast, lunch & dinner each day, including wine & cocktails. Coffee, tea, juices, soft drinks and snacks available all the time.
Accommodation: Misse guest rooms have been designed to be the perfect writer’s space year-round: you’ll have comfort, quiet, privacy and a wonderful view over your surroundings. All of our guest rooms have en suite bathrooms, good lighting, a desk and a comfortable chair. For more details see our rooms page.
Cost
Cost: Residential Mentored Writing Weeks cost £1,375 and can be combined with a 3-day (£1,750) or 7-day (£2,075) studio extension.
Cost: This course can be taken remotely (online) for £425.
