It seems like every Insecure Writer's Support Group day I have a raging migraine. Today is no exception, so I will keep this short.
I am taking a graduate level creative writing workshop. It's horrible waiting for feedback from everyone in the class - and it's totally worth the pain of it. Generally no one person says the same thing about the excerpt - usually 5,000 words. It's time to do my final revisions for this class, and I'm really excited to make the changes.
Have you participated in a writing workshop?
If no one says the same thing, that must be a lot of different suggestions! Never taken a writing workshop.
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried anything like that though I sometimes attend a large critic group where we share five pages. It's so interesting to get so many perspectives.
ReplyDeleteI've never participated in a writing workshop, but would love to! RE: No one ever has the same thing to say, I sometimes feel the same way about critique partners (at least during the try-out phase). Like Karen says, I try to take the constructive things and leave the rest. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI am taking Holly Lisle's online writing courses and workshops. It is the best thing I ever did for my writing. It is very enjoyable. I have never taken a live one though. It sounds like a worthwhile project. Best of Luck
ReplyDeleteJuneta at Writer's Gambit
Yes, I also love workshops. At first I was terrified that I'd get rotten tomatoes thrown in my direction. However, the classmates and instructors were so supportive and helpful. I remember one comment that amused me. He said, "The worst thing about this piece is that I'm probably not going to get to read the whole book." Meaning, I think, that it was going to be another year or two before I finished the manuscript.
ReplyDeleteI haven't since college and I was WAY too insecure in my writing then. It was painful. I DO have a lot of experience with peer review for science stuff, so I get how helpful it is and it has helped me really absorb beta readers and editors better than I could early in process. Glad you're getting a lot out of it!
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you're excited to hear the feedback and work with it to make your story even better. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteMadeline @ The Shellshank Redemption
I took a class in workshop format about 11 years ago. Loved it. Great teacher, great feedback. Wish I could afford to do it again! (Both in terms of money AND time!) :-)
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ReplyDeleteImagine yourself sitting in a meeting room with IT programmers on one side who would rather be huddled over their keyboards creating code (yes there are many similarities between programmers and writers) and Business professionals on the other side who are the sole oracles of obscure computer systems and resistant to change. Then imagine handing them the document you've spent the last 3 months creating.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast writers are much nicer...
I've never participated in a workshop, just my critique circle. It's always hard to hear criticism but I know my writing is better for it. Hope your migraine is gone!
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