Literary Arts offers a variety of writing classes, and many of them include a workshop component. A workshop, broadly speaking, is a chance for writers to give and receive feedback on their writing.
In Matthew Salesses book, Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping, he includes this advice:
“When you are workshopped, it is important to remember that you will not connect with everything that is said. You shouldn’t!
Don’t listen to everything; don’t take every suggestion—trust your instincts. Think hard, though, about all the questions asked of you. Are you making your decisions consciously enough? Are there decisions you made subconsciously that turned out to be even better (or worse) than you expected? Don’t ever try to make your story into someone else’s story, or especially the group’s story. That will ruin what you love about your story and so will ruin your story.
Part of being in a writing community is learning who is a good reader for your work, and how to incorporate suggestions into your own intentions and process. Also remember that while you might not like a suggestion, the most important thing about a critique might be simply its existence. The point remains that that part of your story might have tripped up this group of test readers, and if they are reading carefully, you can use that knowledge to find your own solution or even your own problem. … What is most important is to know that there’s still work to do and to be inspired to do it.”
Alexa Winik asked Literary Arts teachers about their advice for students on giving and receiving feedback and here’s what some of them had to say:
Giving feedback on another writer’s work . . .
- Try to approach another writer’s draft with the best of intentions. Instead of pushing another’s draft towards your own writing style, try to understand where the draft wants to go on its own terms (or using the intentions the draft’s writer has provided).
- Respectful language and good faith engagement are vital to a successful workshop. Try to avoid using language that can come across as unnecessarily directive or absolute. For instance, phrases that start with “You must” or “Don’t” can be perceived as commanding or judgmental, which might make writers feel defensive or discouraged.
- Honor individual voices and exercise cultural sensitivity. Everyone comes from different backgrounds, and that includes their linguistic choices and dialects. In a writing workshop, it’s essential to recognize that different ways of speaking and writing are valid. Understanding and respecting these differences is crucial. Any suggestions made should be framed in a way that allows the writer to decide whether they want to incorporate changes, without feeling like their identity or background is being corrected.
- Helpful feedback is not about showing off how smart you are but about understanding another artist’s interests, drives, and questions and, in the best-case scenarios, help that writer understand themselves a little bit better in the process. Often, the most helpful feedback you can give someone else comes in the form of questions, rather than prescriptions, that help us think more deeply or in new directions. i.e. How can I as an early reader help the writer more clearly uncover and articulate their aims for the piece? Vs. “This is what I think you should do.”
- Reflect on how you might approach giving feedback in terms of good intention and service. A good question to ask yourself might be, “How can we as early readers help the writer more clearly uncover and articulate their aims for the piece rather than art direct or impose our preferences (or prejudices) onto their work?”
- Remember that the process of engaging with and reading other’s work is just as important as writing your own. It will make you a better writer and a better literary community member.
Receiving feedback in a workshop . . .
- Every workshop setting is a little bit different. Some workshops include readers responding in real time to your piece read aloud, while others invite written feedback prepared for you in advance. Some workshops will approach a whole work of your writing from start to finish, while others will focus on a smaller piece or excerpt. Your best approach, as always, is to remain flexible and open to the structure and expectations put forth by your teacher and fellow classmates, knowing that there is no one right way to run a workshop.
- Sharing your writing, whether read aloud or passed around before class starts, can be a vulnerable experience, and that’s ok! It’s very normal to feel nervous, especially if it’s your writing being workshopped. Even so, try not to spend valuable time in the workshop by apologizing for your writing or over-explaining your work before sharing it with others. Alternatively, try to see each workshop as a unique opportunity to practice self-belief, trust, and acceptance towards your writing in a safe and supportive environment.
