Writing Workshops

Many of us write from personal experiences. I do. We weave everyday life into our fiction. In groups, I have noticed that people love this. They can relate to these pieces better, and more discussion is generated. However, I have often noticed that during these discussions there is the tendency for the workshop to begin mimicking a support group. There is one woman in a workshop that I have participated in that insists on bringing up the fact that she was physically beaten as a child during every meeting. She speaks of it no matter what the topic of the piece we read is. Yes, it is important to bring this up as it applies, but she continues to describe the event over and over. We all are willing to help her if we can, but aren't we there to help the writer with their piece. How do we know when these discussions are helping the author? How much outside experience should we bring up when talking about a text?

Another thing that I have noticed is that writer's groups are very very willing to correct inconsistencies in a writer's style. They correct grammar mistakes, which is a huge help! But, they also point out things like fragments, which can or cannot be a part of a writer's style. They tend to condemn new writing styles as being technically wrong despite the fact that they enjoyed the piece as a whole. If we think of what we read, we would realize that everything we read is not written in the same style. There is no one right style to write in. Can a writing group hinder a writer's creativity in this sense?

Workshops, as I mentioned before, have produced a drive in me like nothing else. I would not give them up for the world. There is something about reading other people's work and commenting on it that improves my own writing. However, I continue to be frustrated when it comes time for my own work to be reviewed. I feel like they aren't being critical enough. How much to these groups really improve our writing? Those of you who have had experience with writing groups, share with us your experiences. What worked for your group? Share horror stories and the good ones. I am sure we would all like to know.

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