Novel Revision Retreat by Writing Teacher and Author Darcy Pattison

DARCY PATTISON: Speaker, Teacher, Writer, Reader

Invite Darcy Pattison as Speaker at Your Event

Darcy's passion is to motivate people reach for their dreams.
She encourages, instills confidence, restores hope.

Scheduled Retreats

Scheduled Professional Development for Teachers

Scheduled Conferences, Conventions, and Other

Scheduled Library or School Visits

Through her speaking, writing techniques, blog and books, Darcy Pattison opens the writing process for inspection and gives writers ways into their stories.

The Novel Revision Retreat

Darcy's most popular event is the Novel Revision Retreat.

COMMENTS FROM PARTICIPANTS

Inventory Session

"Maybe the most helpful part. From the moment I started filling the worksheet out, I knew I was in trouble."

"I will use this tool for all projects."

Plotting Sessions

"Coming in, I had the book knowledge about plots, subplots, climax. . . but this workshop put it all into a working perspective. Something I could grab hold of. Exercises forced me to look at things I was avoiding."

"It was a more enhanced description of plotting than I have ever seen."

Overall Comments

"As a whole, these exercises were brilliant because they helped me see how each aspect of novel writing connects to or is attached to the other."

"The workbook is one of the most useful things I'll take away."

"You made things we already knew into a tool instead of a concept."

"I think I'll look back on this weekend as a turning point in my growth as a novelist. I wish we could do this every year!"

"My revised chapter has moved from nice to richer, deeper, funnier. And the finest part is that I feel so empowered - like I have the tools to make my writing the writing of my dreams, the writing I love to read. It is wildly exciting."

SUCCESS STORY: Revision Equals a Better Book

"I attended Darcy's Novel Revision Workshop in July 2006. I revamped the entire story using the techniques Darcy taught in the workbook. The very first editor who read the revised manuscript bought the book." -- , Kristin O'Donnell Tubb, author of Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different (Delacorte, 2008). Read Tubb's success story: writing a better book

I Believe in Your Story

SPEAKER, TEACHER and AUTHOR, DARCY PATTISON

In 1999, speaker, teacher and author Darcy Pattison created the Novel Revision Retreat to meet the needs of struggling novelists. Since then, her passionate teaching has motivated writers nationwide as she encouraged them, "I believe in your story." Her teaching has taken to events around the nation: Hawaii, California, Washington, Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana and many other places. Her blog, Fiction Notes, which gives writing tips and discusses writing techniques, receives over 100,000 visitors per year.

Host a Retreat in Your Area

Retreats are hosted by individuals, writing critique groups, writing organizations, continuing education programs and others. For information on hosting a retreat in your area, please email

Invite Darcy as Speaker

Darcy Pattison has spoken at local and regional conventions, conferences and meetings, as well as these national conventions:

Society of Chidren's Bookwriters and Illustrators
National Council of Teachers of English

Presentations are tailored to your needs. Frequent requests include:

professional development
school visits
keynote at conferences
motivational speaker

For more information and available dates, please email.

Retreat Recommended by

Kirby Larson, 2007 Newbery Honor Winner

" I didn't know anything about revising until I took Darcy's Novel Revision Retreat. I finally 'got it' that reworking a manuscript is not revising. To revise something means to re-vision it, to see it through a new lens. The workshop and the Novel Metamorphosis workbook moved me from wordsmith to novel writer."

Kirby Larson (www.kirbylarson.com), author of Hattie Big Sky, winner of the 2007 Newbery Honor Book Award (the highest award given to children's novels by the American Library Association). Kirby had been writing for nearly 20 years and had published four chapter books and a picture book before writing, and revising, Hattie Big Sky (Delacorte). This story sold in ten-days-flat to the first editor who saw it.

Workbook Recommended by

Barbara Seuling, Author and Writing Teacher

"I found many books useful, but I found your NOVEL METAMORPHOSIS absolutely the best for a workshop. For the first time in 18 years of doing The Manuscript Workshop in Vermont, I offered one this year for novels - for those who had a first draft or more that needed revision. The most interesting session was the one where we dealt with the Shrunken Manuscript, and we were all really impressed about how much we learned from this hands on activity."

Barbara Seuling, Director
The Manuscript Workshop in Vermont www.barbaraseuling.com