Editing Skills for Self-Advocates — From First Draft to Publication
Part 3: Refining Your Writing Style

Revising advocacy writing is much more than just grammar and spelling. Crafting an impactful piece from your first draft is less about the mechanics of writing than it is about making difficult ideas relatable, skillfully putting words to your most challenging emotions, and captivating a compassion-fatigued audience. Even with the first draft on paper, it can feel like an overwhelming task. In this ongoing, four-part series Editing Skills for Self-Advocates—From First Draft to Publication, you will learn valuable skills for every step of the revision process.

Part 1: Developing your ideas (January)

Part 2: Organizing your content (April)

Part 3: Refining your writing style (July)

Part 4: Navigating writing rules (October)

The four parts are designed to stand alone so that you can jump into any session.

Who: New and experienced writers are welcome to join Lisa Hislop, professional editor, and autistic self-advocate, for Editing Skills for Self-Advocates—From First Draft to Publication Part 3: Refining your writing style. 

What: In this two-hour workshop, we will work together on one participant’s draft to create a unified voice that integrates the honesty of self-advocacy with the mechanics of well-written paragraphs. You will learn:  

• How honesty helps self-advocacy writers strike a balance between the clinical and the cathartic.
• How to draw your reader in using tone, pacing, and voice. 
• How to polish your paragraphs and the transitions between them. 

Where: Online via Zoom

When: July 18, 2023, from 6 – 8 pm (Pacific)

How: The evening will include an interactive presentation, quick-reference resources, and time for questions throughout.

About the Facilitator:

For a time, Lisa was merely an autistic who turned her special interest in short stories into a career as a short-fiction editor. Then one day, she realized that the elements of a compelling short story are suspiciously similar to those required for an impactful self-advocacy piece. Now, she is a double agent, editing fiction by day and helping autistic and disabled self-advocates hone their storytelling craft by night.

Lisa is a late-diagnosed autistic with a spinal cord injury. She is an ambassador for Editors Canada, holds a BA in French literature from UBC, and a Certificate in Editing from SFU. You can find her at atypicalediting.com.

We Acknowledge the financial support from BMO with their donation to be used for safe and inclusive Autistic Programming. AutismBC covers all costs to host and develop this workshop so that it is free for our members to attend.