Writer's and Editor's Workshops

Monte and I have run Writer's and Editor's Workshops at the Gen Con Game Fair in recent years. It was great to meet all of you who attended and spend a few hours each day discussing the basics of the writing and editing business, especially as it pertains to roleplaying games.

As many of you were interested in a continuing resource on writing and editing topics, we have created this web page to offer recommended reading and more.

—Sue Weinlein Cook

Gen Con 2005 Editor's Workshop Series (Concluded)
Good editing involves more than just knowing whether to use a comma or semicolon. If you want to make the business of wordsmithing *your* business, join editor Sue Weinlein Cook for these daily workshops covering various aspects of the best behind-the-scenes jobs in the industry. Each two-hour session costs $6 and includes overviews of editing "Rules of the Road," as well as Q&A, handouts, job leads, and in-class exercises.

THURSDAY: EDITING CRASH COURSE
4 to 6 p.m.
Discussion covers important underlying fundamentals of editing, with a special emphasis on the perils of editing game material.

FRIDAY: GAME EDITING
4 to 6 p.m.
Topics include the special needs of rules and adventure editing. Guidelines apply to editing for any game system, but this session also includes the d20 Danger List. We also touch on nonfiction magazine articles and web content, using examples from game industry sources.

SATURDAY: SHORT STORY EDITING
4 to 6 p.m.
Exactly how does fiction editing differ from working with nonfiction? Let us count the ways, using SF/F genre examples.

SUNDAY: PROOFREADING AND JOB SEARCH
Noon to 2 p.m.
Proofreading is one of the most undervalued aspects of an editor's job -- until you miss some typos, that is! Proofing can open doors for aspiring editors, so it meshes well with the topic of getting started in the field. Joining us for the Job Search portion are special visiting guest editor to answer your questions!

Good Books and Other Recommendations

Monte and I recommended quite a number of reference books and other materials during our Writer's, Editor's, and Game Design Workshops. If you're interested in buying them online, here are some links you can try (in no particular order). They take you to Amazon.com or Office Max online. Happy hunting, and thanks for attending our workshops!

Writing Good Sentences (3rd Edition)

Revising Prose (4th Edition)

Words into Type (3rd Edition)

The Chicago Manual of Style (15th edition)

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th edition)

The Original Lap Reader

2004 Writers Market

2003 Guide to Literary Agents

Fiction Writer's Workshop

Beginning Writer's Answer Book

This Business of Writing

Characters and Viewpoint.

Readers Digest Illustrated Reverse Dictionary

The Describer's Dictionary

Random House Webster's Word Menu

Medieval Life

Life in a Medieval Castle

Life in a Medieval Village

Life in a Medieval City

Castles: Their Construction and History

City by David Macaulay

Castle by David Macaulay

Pyramid by David Macaulay

The Atlas of Sacred Places

Atlas of Ancient Archaeology

A World of Baby Names

A Dictionary of Cultural and Critical Theory

Space Almanac

The Timetables of History

Psychiatric Dictionary

The American Medical Association Encyclopedia of Medicine

The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions

Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

Monte's Writer's Workshop Notes

Last year, Monte posted some notes from his Writer's Workshop series. You can still read Part 1 and Part 2 plus his recommended reading list in the Line of Sight column archives on his website.