The Shiny Dime Challenge

A Shiny Dime is a specific and surprising idea. It's the singular focus of a piece of writing. And it's a concept that will help you capture attention in a crowded world.

Hey writers,

This week, you learned how to revise your work using your Shiny Dime. Now, it’s time to put it into practice. Here’s your seventh writing prompt:

Write about a topic you could talk about for 30 minutes without preparation.

Here are some ideas to get you started: 

• What do you call your best friend to rant about? 
• What advice does your family come to you for? 
• If you had to teach a college class, what would you name it? 
• Or, what have you been excited about recently that you can’t stop bringing up in conversation? 

It will be easy for you to ramble about this topic, and that’s the point. As you write your first draft, let it all out. Pour your thoughts onto the page. But once you’ve gotten your ideas out, go back and cut everything that doesn’t relate to the central message of your piece, your Shiny Dime. 

Yup, you guessed it. It’s time to drown your kittens. 

But here’s the thing. You don’t necessarily have to drown your kittens; you can just set them aside for later. (Aren’t cats supposed to have nine lives anyway?) You can find what to keep and what to cut through a process called reverse outlining.

Reverse outlining is a revision plan for your messy first draft. Here’s how it works: 

1. Start by reading through your first draft and highlighting the most essential elements of your message. Don’t pay any attention to the voice or style of your sentences. Focus solely on the content. Ask yourself, is this idea fundamental to what I’m trying to say? If yes, highlight. 
2. Open a new document and copy/paste the highlighted sections from your first draft. This is the skeleton of your second draft, composed strictly of material that directly supports your Shiny Dime. 
3. Under each highlighted section, add evidence in the form of bullet points. This helps you arrange your ideas in a way that makes sense. Add only enough detail to give yourself a clear direction for your second draft. 

Once you have a reverse outline, start revising your messy first draft. Remember to use your Shiny Dime as a razor for revision. 

If you need more guidance on how to reverse outline, here’s an example (at the risk of getting very meta). For this past week’s lesson, “How to Revise with Your Shiny Dime,” a reverse outline would look something like this:

Shiny Dime: Your Shiny Dime shows you exactly which kittens to drown.

• “Kill your darlings” or “drown your kittens” is good advice because it helps you write with objectivity.
  • We get emotionally attached to our work, making it difficult to self-edit and cut ideas when necessary.
  • Your darlings/kittens can hold you back.
• Make sure that every paragraph, every sentence even, relates back to your central idea.
  • "If a sentence, no matter how excellent, does not illuminate your subject in some new and useful way, scratch it out." – Kurt Vonnegut
  • Bring in supporting facts, stories, and quotes as evidence — but only material that serves your Shiny Dime.
  • Cut tangents to keep your reader engaged.
• Your Shiny Dime is a golden thread that ties everything together.
  • Make sure everything hangs on that thread so that your reader can follow along.
  • If you find yourself losing the thread as you write, your reader definitely will.
  • Use your Shiny Dime as a razor for revision.

See how every sentence supports the Shiny Dime? That’s the magic of revision. So, without further ado: What’s a topic you can write about for 30 minutes without preparation? Write a messy first draft, and then create a reverse outline. You’ve got this.

Today, head into Circle to read your peers’ Shiny Dimes from last week. You’ll receive the next lesson on Monday and access to the next Circle space on next Wednesday. 

To your ideas,

The Write of Passage Team 

Don't forget to post your writing in Circle. That way, others can read your work. And while you’re at it, like, comment, and leave feedback! Use the Circle community to connect with your peers and find inspiration.