Do you ever feel like a piece of writing isn’t working, but you can’t quite tell why?
Do you find yourself circling the same pages, unsure what to cut, expand, or change?
Revision Lab is a chance to watch the revision process unfold in real time—and then practice new ways of seeing and strengthening your own work.
HOW REVISION LAB WORKS:
Revision Lab is a one-hour workshop designed to make the revision process more visible, practical, and creative.
Writers will have the opportunity to submit 2–3 pages of work ahead of time. Using a random selection process, I’ll choose two pieces for a live “hot seat” revision.
During these sessions, I’ll walk through how I read the work, what I notice, and the kinds of questions and possibilities that might help the piece grow stronger.
This isn’t a group critique or a pile-on of opinions. The goal is not to impress anyone or tear work apart. Instead, I’ll lead the revision process in a way that reflects what I’ve learned from two decades of facilitating writing workshops and teaching at universities—and from my own sometimes painful experiences in traditional workshop environments.
After the hot seat sessions, I’ll guide the whole group through a series of generative revision exercises so everyone can experiment with their own pages. You’ll have time to try new approaches, rethink a scene or paragraph, and discover possibilities you might not have seen before.
Even if your pages aren’t selected for the hot seat, the goal of this workshop is for everyone to learn how to see their work more clearly and revise with intention.
This is a space for curiosity, experimentation, and growth—where revision becomes a creative practice rather than a judgment.
WHAT YOU'LL GET IN REVISION LAB:
- Watch a thoughtful revision process unfold through two live editing sessions
- Learn how an experienced reader and editor approaches a piece of writing and identifies possibilities for revision
- Gain practical strategies for strengthening your own pages
- Experiment with guided revision exercises you can return to later
- Develop a clearer sense of what to look for when revising your work
You'll leave with an understanding of revision as a creative practice of discovery, experimentation, vision, and trust.
You'll remember that revision is when writing becomes what it was meant to be.
WORKSHOP DETAILS
WHEN: Wednesday, August 5, 2026 from 7-8 pm PDT (United States)/ Thursday, August 6, 2028 from 12-1 pm AEST (Australia)
WHERE: Everywhere! On Zoom!
ON SUBMITTING WORK: Writers who would like their work considered for the hot seat may submit 2–3 pages after enrollment. Submissions must be received at least seven days before the workshop, and two pieces will be selected using a random generator. After registering, you’ll receive detailed information about length requirements and submission guidelines.
Please Note: To protect the privacy of participants and the intimacy of the revision process, THERE WILL BE NO RECORDING OF THIS WORKSHOP.
All submitted work will be deleted immediately after the workshop. Your work will not be shared with anyone or posted anywhere. The workshop will not be recorded.
What You Get with a Season Pass
The Wild Craft Season Pass gives you access to all three Summer workshops—How the Fuck Did They Do That, Craft Deep Dive, and Revision Lab—at 20% off.
Each workshop stands on its own, but together they create a powerful series: you’ll read like a writer, sharpen your craft, and then transform your own work through revision. It’s a deeper, richer experience that builds momentum and carries your writing forward.
Take one workshop, and you'll learn something. Take all three, and you'll feel a shift in your life and on the page.
MEET SARAH SENTILLES
For many years, I worked one-on-one with writers, reading drafts closely and helping them think through the next stage of their work. I loved that process—watching a piece open up through thoughtful revision. But over time, as my life expanded, I no longer had the capacity to read individual manuscripts the way I once did.
I created Revision Lab in response to the many writers who still ask if I can read their pages. This workshop is a way to make the revision process visible—so writers can see how an experienced reader approaches a draft, what questions arise, and how new possibilities emerge.
I’ve been writing for thirty years and am the author of five books, including Draw Your Weapons, which won the 2018 PEN America Award for Creative Nonfiction. My most recent book, Stranger Care: A Memoir of Loving What Isn’t Ours, was published by Random House and was a New York Times Editors’ Choice and Idaho Book of the Year. My writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic, among other publications. I’ve had residencies at Hedgebrook and Yaddo and earned degrees at Yale and Harvard.
For me, revision is one of the most creative stages of writing. We get to listen even more deeply to the work to hear what the piece wants to become. Revision invites us to take bigger risks, follow surprising energy, and trust the vision that is emerging on the page.
That’s the spirit behind Revision Lab: approaching revision not as correction or as narrowing, but as a space for discovery, courage, and possibility.
