Writer’s Workshops, in my undergraduate classes, were something of a disaster. I understand why now. First, there were too many students in the class to be effective. And second, the structured writing assignments hurt any creative energy that may have existed.
My graduate degree also requires Writer’s Workshops, and, I’ll admit, going in, I was supremely skeptical of the value the class could provide, just based on my prior experiences.
I’m over that now.
In my workshop class, there are eleven students in the room, plus the professor. As students, we are a mix of masters and Ph.Ds. Every week, two people in class provide stories for everyone else to comb through. The creative work provided is entirely up to the author – on whatever piece of fiction that they want other’s opinions. We spend the class discussing what works and what doesn’t work in the submitted material. It is supremely helpful.
This past week, I had submitted the first four chapters of The Book of Death to be workshopped. I’m trying to write it so that one doesn’t have to read Ring of the Tax Collector to understand the story. Based on the input from my classmates, I’d say I was about 60% successful. I am very clear now on what I need to go back and fix. They also provided some ideas on how to make it better.
As scary as workshop was, I believe my story is going to be 100x better because of it. The good news is, I will be taking a workshop class every semester of my graduate school career. With any luck, that means I can write one or two more books during my tenure as a graduate student.
I’m already hard at work on the revisions. And continuing the story. With any luck, I will be submitting another four or five chapters for the next round, later in the semester.
If you are in a workshop as a writer – fantastic! If you are not in a workshop as a writer, perhaps consider finding one. Good workshops are an incredible experience.
Go forth and write!
My graduate degree also requires Writer’s Workshops, and, I’ll admit, going in, I was supremely skeptical of the value the class could provide, just based on my prior experiences.
I’m over that now.
In my workshop class, there are eleven students in the room, plus the professor. As students, we are a mix of masters and Ph.Ds. Every week, two people in class provide stories for everyone else to comb through. The creative work provided is entirely up to the author – on whatever piece of fiction that they want other’s opinions. We spend the class discussing what works and what doesn’t work in the submitted material. It is supremely helpful.
This past week, I had submitted the first four chapters of The Book of Death to be workshopped. I’m trying to write it so that one doesn’t have to read Ring of the Tax Collector to understand the story. Based on the input from my classmates, I’d say I was about 60% successful. I am very clear now on what I need to go back and fix. They also provided some ideas on how to make it better.
As scary as workshop was, I believe my story is going to be 100x better because of it. The good news is, I will be taking a workshop class every semester of my graduate school career. With any luck, that means I can write one or two more books during my tenure as a graduate student.
I’m already hard at work on the revisions. And continuing the story. With any luck, I will be submitting another four or five chapters for the next round, later in the semester.
If you are in a workshop as a writer – fantastic! If you are not in a workshop as a writer, perhaps consider finding one. Good workshops are an incredible experience.
Go forth and write!