The second day of the annual Lions in Winter festival took place on Thursday in Doudna Concert Hall. The festival involves authors holding discussions about tips and tricks of writing along with readings from the author’s work. 

The first event of the second day was a craft talk from author Julia Fine who has published three books.   

Her first novel “What Should Be Wild,” published in 2018, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel and shortlisted for the 2018 Chicago Review of Books award for fiction.   

Her second book “The Upstairs House,” published in 2021, won the Chicago Review of Books Award for fiction.  

Fine’s most recent book “Maddalena and the Dark” was published in 2023.  

Fine gave her craft talk on the process of revision when writing.  

“I do think that you can take this and apply it to memoirs, creative nonfiction, essay writing, anything else you are doing,” Fine said.  

After the creation of the first draft, Fine recommended going back and using a suggestion mode in a word processing program, tracking changes in Microsoft Word.  

She also said she believed printing out work is very important.   

“Having a printed copy is really huge because you’re going to catch things written down that you won’t that you’re not going to catch on screen,” Fine said. 

Fine advised taking a break from long projects. 

“When you return to it, you’ll be able to approach it with fresh eyes,” she said.  

When the time comes for editing, Fine said checking for points beyond spelling and grammar are critical to the story.  

“One of them is doing a pass for chronology and time consistency,” Fine said. “Does time make sense? Is everything operating in a way where things pass through in a way that makes sense?”  

Another important pass through happens with characters and in making sure that their goals remain consistent and make sense.   

Overall, when it comes to editing, Fine suggested making the big fixes before the small ones.  

“If you are sitting there polishing your little rocks when what you need to do is rebuilding the building, you’re wasting your time,” Fine said.  

Finding the right people for feedback helps keep the identity of the story and avoid unhelpful feedback she said. 

“One of the ways you can do that is building out your own group of people who you know get what you’re trying to do and are going to give feedback aligned with the book you’re trying to write,” Fine said.  

The night concluded with readings from three student writers along with the three featured writers—Fine, Minda Honey and Jacqui Germain.  

The first day was meant to have an author’s roundtable and craft talks from Honey and Germain, but that day was rescheduled. Those craft talks are set to be held virtually later in the semester. 

Graduate student Riley Bauer read a nonfiction piece “Welcome to the Family” which he wrote about his relationship with his neighbor’s child.   

Honey read from her memoir “The Heartbreak Years,” which takes place during her time in California in her 20s.  

Graduate student Jenna Tobias read her short story “Snow Angels,” a piece about mysterious angels that fall from the sky.  

Fine read from her novel “Maddalena and the Dark,” which follow two music students in 1700s Venice, Italy.  

Graduate student Erica Heldenbrand also read “Silent Bonds,” which she wrote about her time in high school.  

Germain read from her book “Bittering the Wound,” which is about the Ferguson, Missouri, protests in 2014. 

Jason Coulombe can be reached at 581-2812 or at jmcoulombe@eiu.edu.