Please read the following before we begin the workshop:
Participating in writing workshops is immensely rewarding, but getting feedback is only half of the job. Giving good, helpful feedback is equally important.
Writers
who join fiction writing workshops often focus on getting feedback and
improving their own writing – but in a writing workshop, responding to
the work of other writers is just as important as receiving feedback.
Acting as good, helpful, active workshop participants helps writers
improve their own work and leads mutual respect and lasting
relationships.
Ask the Right Questions
Sometimes workshop participants will receive a story and immediately hate it. This is one of the major reasons that writing workshops advise participants to read stories more than once – a story that seems downright terrible on the first read through might have merits that are easy to miss in just one reading. It is the job of a writing workshop participant to locate the merits of the workshopped stories and tell their authors how to take advantage of them, so a workshop reader needs to read stories multiple times to tease out their strong points.
Many people in writing workshops find it difficult to engage with stories that don’t fit their idea of “good” writing. Someone who prefers brooding, philosophical, thickly written stories might find a lighthearted romance difficult to appreciate or take seriously, and will then struggle to give good and helpful feedback. Workshop participants, then, must learn to differentiate between something that is poorly written and something that simply “isn’t their thing.” The best way to do this is to ask: “What is this story trying to do and how could it do better?”
It is unfair and unhelpful to advise an author to do something completely different than what they want to do. Writers in workshops should guide their fellow writers in the direction they’re already going and remain careful to avoid letting their preferences get in the way of providing good feedback.
Make Manuscript Marks and Workshop Time Count
Most fiction writing workshops ask participants to take home manuscripts of stories to make notes on. This saves time during the workshop. All workshop participants should understand that things that can be communicated clearly on the manuscript don’t need to be brought up during workshop.
Workshop time is valuable, and it’s much better to spend time discussing the nuances of a character’s motivation than to cite examples of cliché use. Writers responding to the works of others should make notes on the manuscript about everything they feel needs to be said, then use the workshop time to discuss only the things that need to be elaborated on verbally in the workshop.
When marking on the manuscript, make sure everything that’s written is helpful and clear. Simply underlining passages with no explanation frustrates the writer and doesn’t communicate well. Be sure to write legibly in the margins and explain feedback clearly. For example, it’s much better to say “great use of imagery” than “nice,” and scribbling a question mark is far less helpful than writing “why would this character say that?”
It is often helpful to use colored pens or editorial symbols to bolster clarity and avoid having to repeat yourself. Workshops always provide opportunities to elaborate on written feedback, but writers should do their best to be as helpful and clear as possible on the manuscripts.
Balance Gentleness and Truth
Writing workshops are great places to meet people, cultivate friendships, and network, but they can also be extremely frustrating. Dealing with other people’s writing can cause feelings of jealous inferiority, or it can cause a sense of annoyed superiority. It is tempting to respond defensively to negative feedback by tearing apart someone else’s work, and it is also difficult to respond fairly to a work that genuinely seems terrible. Still, writers in writing workshops must remember that sharing one’s writing is often frightening and painful, and all of their fellow writers deserve to be given feedback with gentleness and respect.
On the other hand, it does no good to a writer to be lavished with false praise. All writers join workshops expecting sincere and helpful feedback that will improve their writing. Writers looking to get feedback on their work hope to be told what works in their writing, but also want to be alerted to problems with their writing and areas that can be strengthened. Writers giving feedback in writing workshops do not fulfil their obligations if they are not honest and do not push their fellow writers to improve.
Ask the Right Questions
Sometimes workshop participants will receive a story and immediately hate it. This is one of the major reasons that writing workshops advise participants to read stories more than once – a story that seems downright terrible on the first read through might have merits that are easy to miss in just one reading. It is the job of a writing workshop participant to locate the merits of the workshopped stories and tell their authors how to take advantage of them, so a workshop reader needs to read stories multiple times to tease out their strong points.
Many people in writing workshops find it difficult to engage with stories that don’t fit their idea of “good” writing. Someone who prefers brooding, philosophical, thickly written stories might find a lighthearted romance difficult to appreciate or take seriously, and will then struggle to give good and helpful feedback. Workshop participants, then, must learn to differentiate between something that is poorly written and something that simply “isn’t their thing.” The best way to do this is to ask: “What is this story trying to do and how could it do better?”
It is unfair and unhelpful to advise an author to do something completely different than what they want to do. Writers in workshops should guide their fellow writers in the direction they’re already going and remain careful to avoid letting their preferences get in the way of providing good feedback.
Make Manuscript Marks and Workshop Time Count
Most fiction writing workshops ask participants to take home manuscripts of stories to make notes on. This saves time during the workshop. All workshop participants should understand that things that can be communicated clearly on the manuscript don’t need to be brought up during workshop.
Workshop time is valuable, and it’s much better to spend time discussing the nuances of a character’s motivation than to cite examples of cliché use. Writers responding to the works of others should make notes on the manuscript about everything they feel needs to be said, then use the workshop time to discuss only the things that need to be elaborated on verbally in the workshop.
When marking on the manuscript, make sure everything that’s written is helpful and clear. Simply underlining passages with no explanation frustrates the writer and doesn’t communicate well. Be sure to write legibly in the margins and explain feedback clearly. For example, it’s much better to say “great use of imagery” than “nice,” and scribbling a question mark is far less helpful than writing “why would this character say that?”
It is often helpful to use colored pens or editorial symbols to bolster clarity and avoid having to repeat yourself. Workshops always provide opportunities to elaborate on written feedback, but writers should do their best to be as helpful and clear as possible on the manuscripts.
Balance Gentleness and Truth
Writing workshops are great places to meet people, cultivate friendships, and network, but they can also be extremely frustrating. Dealing with other people’s writing can cause feelings of jealous inferiority, or it can cause a sense of annoyed superiority. It is tempting to respond defensively to negative feedback by tearing apart someone else’s work, and it is also difficult to respond fairly to a work that genuinely seems terrible. Still, writers in writing workshops must remember that sharing one’s writing is often frightening and painful, and all of their fellow writers deserve to be given feedback with gentleness and respect.
On the other hand, it does no good to a writer to be lavished with false praise. All writers join workshops expecting sincere and helpful feedback that will improve their writing. Writers looking to get feedback on their work hope to be told what works in their writing, but also want to be alerted to problems with their writing and areas that can be strengthened. Writers giving feedback in writing workshops do not fulfil their obligations if they are not honest and do not push their fellow writers to improve.
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