My Experience With the Writing Workshop
I attended a Writing Workshop this weekend over "The Novel". It explored the in's and out's of novel writing and the troubles writers face when trying to write a novel. The workshop is tailored to each group which means that if needed you can spend more or less time discussing certain subjects.
I found it to be extremely helpful. I gained so much knowledge from that weekend that the information is oozing out of my brain! I could re-take that workshop a few times before I manage to get everything out of it.
That being said, I also felt out of place and it was a real challenge for me. The workshop is for all levels of writer from beginning to someone who's been published over and over. Most people there were far above my knowledge level. I felt like a 12 year old sitting with a bunch of knowledgeable adults.
On the first day we were given a sentence in which one word was left out, we had to fill in the word and then continue writing a story from that sentence. We were given about 2 minutes, then the instructor stopped us, we continued on for a while with class before she had us go back and scan what we had written finding a word or phrase that stuck out and then writing from that word/phrase. We did this a few times.
Sunday she read aloud the unedited pieces we had written. Everyone's sounded so beautiful especially being a first draft. Then mine came along and I was so embaressed, I'm glad everything was read annonymously. Even for me that piece was horrible. The workshop tries to promote your strengths. The instructor gave insight into the strong points of everyone's piece but after she read mine, she just had to explain that she thought it was leading where it ended up leading to. Never gave any positive or negative feedback. Which leaves me wondering "Was it really that awful?"
I know I am a newbie writer, I make all the newbie writer mistakes, I have a lot to learn, perhaps things I should have learned years ago even but I am just learning them now. I struggle with my self confidence and insecurity. The stopped me from doing anything for years. I was just too afraid of rejection or failure to even start to try something. I'm trying to overcome that but the workshop proved difficult in that manner too. Today I am very exhausted emotionally from trying to not let my brain run to wild with the thoughts of "Am I good enough?" "Did it my writing suck that badly?" "Should I bother going on?" All this internal dialogue does is beat me down which is the last thing I need to do.
Now I know not everyone will like my writing, some because it is not their genre, some because it is not their writing style, others just because it doesn't interest them. Thats fine, everyone has their own opinion, even I, it doesn't really mean a writer or piece is good/bad just a person's individual taste. I don't want to fail and stop this book before it's finished just because of self doubt or the fact that someone doesn't like it. If 100 people read it and only 5 enjoy it, that is still 5 people that enjoyed it, right?
So I have to push forward through the muck and the mud, I will come out victorious in the end even if it means the battle will rage on.
I found it to be extremely helpful. I gained so much knowledge from that weekend that the information is oozing out of my brain! I could re-take that workshop a few times before I manage to get everything out of it.
That being said, I also felt out of place and it was a real challenge for me. The workshop is for all levels of writer from beginning to someone who's been published over and over. Most people there were far above my knowledge level. I felt like a 12 year old sitting with a bunch of knowledgeable adults.
On the first day we were given a sentence in which one word was left out, we had to fill in the word and then continue writing a story from that sentence. We were given about 2 minutes, then the instructor stopped us, we continued on for a while with class before she had us go back and scan what we had written finding a word or phrase that stuck out and then writing from that word/phrase. We did this a few times.
Sunday she read aloud the unedited pieces we had written. Everyone's sounded so beautiful especially being a first draft. Then mine came along and I was so embaressed, I'm glad everything was read annonymously. Even for me that piece was horrible. The workshop tries to promote your strengths. The instructor gave insight into the strong points of everyone's piece but after she read mine, she just had to explain that she thought it was leading where it ended up leading to. Never gave any positive or negative feedback. Which leaves me wondering "Was it really that awful?"
I know I am a newbie writer, I make all the newbie writer mistakes, I have a lot to learn, perhaps things I should have learned years ago even but I am just learning them now. I struggle with my self confidence and insecurity. The stopped me from doing anything for years. I was just too afraid of rejection or failure to even start to try something. I'm trying to overcome that but the workshop proved difficult in that manner too. Today I am very exhausted emotionally from trying to not let my brain run to wild with the thoughts of "Am I good enough?" "Did it my writing suck that badly?" "Should I bother going on?" All this internal dialogue does is beat me down which is the last thing I need to do.
Now I know not everyone will like my writing, some because it is not their genre, some because it is not their writing style, others just because it doesn't interest them. Thats fine, everyone has their own opinion, even I, it doesn't really mean a writer or piece is good/bad just a person's individual taste. I don't want to fail and stop this book before it's finished just because of self doubt or the fact that someone doesn't like it. If 100 people read it and only 5 enjoy it, that is still 5 people that enjoyed it, right?
So I have to push forward through the muck and the mud, I will come out victorious in the end even if it means the battle will rage on.