Writing Workshops
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- Marella
- moonstonewolf
- Marella
- moonstonewolf
- Marella
- bartonz
- WyndeRiter
- kellibrooke
- kellibrooke
- moonstonewolf
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» Marella - Workshops, Groups
Im my area, "Writing Groups," this stuff gets talked about every month. A bad writers group is BAD for you. A good one can be invaluable. The trick is finding a good one. I was lucky in that regard, and was able to get enough great input that only six months after joining the group, I had my first professional sale. Most people aren't that lucky, though.The trick, really, is to find like-minded people who are serious about writing. They want honest (not cruel) critique, and will give the same back. They expect the people they critique to use their advice to improve their work, just as they will use others' advice to improve their own.
You also don't have to use =every= piece of advice you get. So along the way you have to be able to sift bad advice from good advice, too.
In the end, just knowing how to write is not enough. Learning to critique, learning to take critique, and revising your work are different skills which must all be learned to be successful.
-- posted by Marella
» moonstonewolf - Can't find a good one in St Louis
I went to a few, and just like you mentioned in the article, they point out how good it is, but nothing about how to make the piece better. I know that there were some pieces I wrote that were absolutely horrible and got a "that's great" reaction from people. Sure, it does my ego wonders, but doesn't do much for my writing. I even took a creative writing class that the teacher did the same thing. She graded each piece A+ just for effort. How is one to know if they really "have it" in writing with that. Of course, I also like gentle helpful criticism and not hurtful remarks. I just wish I could find someone who will read my stuff and tell me the truth. I believe that is a major reason why I am suffering from this writers' block so much.MoonstoneWolf
-- posted by moonstonewolf
» Marella - Re: Can't find a good one in St Louis
In response to message posted by moonstonewolf:If you want to get in contact with some serious amateurs in St. Louis, I can facilitate that. Also, Mickey Zucker Reichert ususally runs a writers workshop at NameThatCon every year (she didn't this year, but that's a first), and sometimes Archon runs a workshop of sorts. There are a lot of places to meet pros in St. Louis, too, besides SF conventions -- the Romance Writers have a chapter and Sisters in Crime does, also. As does the Society for Children's Book Writers & Illustrators. What do you write?
Good luck with your stuff. Let me know here or email to msands@marellasands.com what you write and what assistance you're looking for.
-- posted by Marella
» moonstonewolf - Re: Re: Can't find a good one in St Louis
In response to message posted by Marella:I'm not sure what you would call it. It's nonfiction, based on true events in my life. It's no more than 50,000 words short story and Native American genre. I have a story on writtenbyme titled Visitor in the Night about a racoon who used to come and visit me at nights, chattering away at me through the window. I gave the racoon a voice and wrote the story as though he and I were conversing the the same language. I believe there's a name for this type of fiction but not sure what it is.
MoonstoneWolf
-- posted by moonstonewolf
» Marella - Re:Can't find a good one in St Louis
Hard to say, really. A talking animal can end up in science fiction ("Architect of Sleep"), fantasy ("Wind in the Willows") or literary fiction ("Watership Down").If you would like me to forward your email address to someone who is trying to gather serious amateurs in the St. Louis area into a good writers group, let me know. Also, there's an online writers group at www.katharsis.org. Haven't used it myself, but you might want to check it out.
-- posted by Marella
» WyndeRiter - Tip for Reviewing a Writing Group
Since I too have found that being in a "nicey-nice" or "too cruel" group do more harm than good as far as my writing goes-- I have found a technique that works in discovering the capacity of a group's abilities to critique effectively.I bring in my most experimental work. This piece breaks ALL of the rules (1st person present, short and choppy sentences, extensive flashbacks and in it's 4K words, it has less than 10 lines of dialogue, AND a lack of actual names, only "titles"), however, for the story, it works. It REALLY works.
The "nicey-nice" groups have a tendency to be baffled by the experimental concept and limit themselves to one or two word phrases like "Good story" and "Neat." The cruel groups have a tendency to bash the use of choppy phrasing and the lack of dialogue (not to mention what they do with the extensive flashbacks-- there were words used that I wouldn't say in front of my kids).
The good groups have a tendency to point out structural inconsistencies (a great tip I got from my fave writing critic was that in a couple of paragraphs I had shifted POV and the main character said "she felt like crying" which, for her, she wouldn't even recognize that emotion as such).
So, if you're going to a new group, try bringing in your most experimental work and see what happens. Also, if you want a site online for great critiques, try http://www.ipublish.com It also gives great tips on how you can learn to be a better critiquer of both your own work and others.
-- posted by WyndeRiter
» kellibrooke - Re: Tip for Reviewing a Writing Group
Thank you very much for the suggestions. They sound very interesting. Thanx too for the website. I am planning to check it out.
-- posted by kellibrooke
» kellibrooke - Thanx for posting
Thank you all for posting. This is the kind of discussion I like. I hope other articles will attract this much discussion. Thanx.
-- posted by kellibrooke
» moonstonewolf - Re: Tip for Reviewing a Writing Group
In response to message posted by WyndeRiter:I'm so sorry it took me so long to reply. Thank you for the website. I checked it out. I have some very short stories and articles that I would like to a)rewrite and revise and b)gather these into an ebook. I have my stuff posted at writtenbyme.com but nobody tells you what they do not like about your material. I suppose most people are afraid to do so. Anyway, would I be allowed to send these stories to ipublish.com and get their ideas before trying to selfpublish. Thank you for any help you can give me.
MoonstoneWolf
-- posted by moonstonewolf
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