by Bonnee Crawford
Nadine Davidoff ran her session on editing narrative nonfiction as part of the Editors Victoria professional development offering. The first session was held on Tuesday 30 May, with second and third repeat sessions added on 6 and 13 June, due to high demand.
She opened by posing a question to attendees: what is the difference between narrative nonfiction and general nonfiction?
Nadine went on to explore six elements of narrative nonfiction, how writers use them, and what qualities and components an editor can consider when working with an author. The elements covered in these sessions were voice, structure and focus, openings and endings, scene and summary, setting and characterisation, and style.
Nadine brought her passion for working with narrative nonfiction to the discussion as she guided participants through a thought-provoking exploration of those key aspects. Each topic was paired with a handful of excerpts that served as a springboard for deepening the discussion.
Throughout the session, Nadine engaged participants to enrich the conversation with their own thoughts and experiences. This brought fresh perspectives and different points of view to each of the sessions.
Armed with a plethora of further reading recommendations, the three-hour sessions were packed with Nadine’s valuable insights. Her presentation opened the doors for attendees to ask more and want to explore deeper to hone their skills in editing narrative nonfiction.
This is what some of the participants had to say:
“Well worth the money and the time.”
”Amazing session! So focused, so much info. I can really use this going forward.”
“Nadine’s expertise and delivery were excellent.”