Instead, this course, which is run as part of the Claire Keegan fiction clinics series, concentrates on the micro level issues in your fiction manuscript. It focuses on the nitty gritty problems you as the author must address when fine-tuning your work. The better self-edited your manuscript is before you send it to an editor or proofreader, the less expensive the professional editing stage will be.
 
Those considering a career in proofreading or copy-editing might also find this course interesting and informative.

It is a two-day course and will cover:

• The correct use of punctuation, including apostrophes, commas, colons, semi-colons, ellipses, hyphens, dashes, exclamation marks, slashes and quotation marks.
• How to lay out your fiction manuscript, e.g. paragraph indentation, section breaks and page breaks.
• How to format character dialogue and avoid common dialogue errors.
• How to style your fiction manuscript, e.g. when to use italics, chapter headings, etc.
• Identifying and correcting common errors editors find in fiction manuscripts, e.g. comma splices, homophones, dangling modifiers, incorrect capitalisation of common nouns/proper nouns, and overuse of clichés, adverbs and the passive voice, etc.
• How to recognise style errors such as tautology and pleonasm.
• How to avoid timeline errors and plot inconsistencies.

Course dates: 27–28 February 2016 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day)
Venue: The Millrace Hotel, Bunclody, Co Wexford
Tuition fee: €200
To book: please email ckfictionclinic@yahoo.com
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Wonderful course – I wish I’d found it years ago.
 
I learned a great deal and feel I have grown in confidence.
 
I enjoyed the course – to the point, very helpful and I will use the notes for reference.
 
Fantastic course – really valuable.
 
Superbly prepared and presented.
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For details of upcoming Claire Keegan fiction courses please visit her website Claire Keegan fiction clinic or her Facebook page CKFictionClinic.​