Wendy on Writing

I’m at the Antioch Writers’ Workshop in Yellow Springs, Ohio, as I always am the second week of July. So far the workshop’s fantastic, with “ah-ha!” moments scattered amidst the chuckles. And the hugs have been great! (more…)

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Here’s a quick follow-up post to say thanks to the ladies of the Dayton Book Expo. Their hard work paid off in a wonderful cornucopia of books, authors and readers. It was especially refreshing to see young authors and readers enjoying the event. (more…)

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If you’re serious about becoming a published writer, eventually you will find yourself at a writers’ conference. (If you haven’t realized this yet, reread that first sentence. Then go here and peruse the offerings.)

Many writers’ conferences (similar to MFA programs) offer the opportunity to have your work critiqued. No,  “offer the opportunity to have your work critiqued”  is not a synonym for “force you to stand in front of a firing squad of wanna-be editors with loaded pens.”

Nevertheless, having your work critiqued in a workshop format for the first time can be intimidating, especially if for those doing the critiquing it’s the first time, also.  But first, what am I talking about?

“Workshopping” your writing refers to bringing a sample of your writing (typically five to 10 pages, or one to three poems) to a group of other writers. Sometimes these folks will write in your genre; sometimes they will represent all sorts of genres: fiction, nonfiction, and memoir, perhaps. It is not critical that they write what you write. Some of my best critiques have come from people who do not write what I do. Some of my best critiques have come from non-writers! (But I’ll address that in a bit.)

Depending on the rules of the group, you will either be expected to just read your work while people listen and take notes, or you will also be asked to bring copies for each person to read along with you. In some writers’ groups, people share manuscripts this way and then just e-mail their comments back and forth. (I’m not a fan of this, but it’s off topic in any case.)

After you share your work, one way or another, then you receive the feedback. Sometimes people just volunteer to go in whatever order that strikes their fancy; sometimes the group follows a certain order, as if in a card game.

Some groups deliver the good comments and the negative feedback from one critic at the same time. Last year while working at the Antioch Writers’ Workshop (which I highly recommend, by the way), I heard author Donald Ray Pollock lead a group in their workshop session. He had them go around the room once and “share the love” with all the positive comments first. Then they went around the group again for all the negative comments after the writer was feeling good and ready to hear any criticism (in the more common use of the word).

Whichever way you choose to do it, both the “critiquers” and the “critiquees” should bear some things in mind.

Critiquers

• Do remember that you are not trying to fix the author’s work. Your job is to describe how the work affected you or what impressions you got from the work.
• Do phrase things in terms of how you read it or how you understood it. For example, “I might be misunderstanding this, but to me this passage sounds as if the dog is driving the car” instead of “Your antecedent is unclear” or “You need to change who ‘he’ refers to in the third paragraph.”
• Do remember that this is  ultimately not your work. You can voice an opinion, but the person reading his or her work does not have to accept it.
• Do not be afraid to voice that opinion of yours, even if you think you are not as educated as others at the table. You might be right smack in the intended audience for that person’s work.
• Do handle other people’s feelings and their works with care and respect. You would ask the same. It will be your turn in a few minutes and we all know what paybacks are.

Critiquees

• Do try to sit and listen to the critiques. Do not argue or explain what you were thinking when you wrote it, but do ask for clarification if you don’t understand what the critiquer is saying.
• Do look at each person as she or he is talking to you. After all, didn’t your mommy or daddy teach you that, anyway?
• Do take notes.
• Don’t feel that you have to take everything seriously. Honestly, some comments that you will get are going to be completely off base. Remember, this is your work. Whereas some suggestions might make the work more saleable, they also might make it completely different from what you wanted it to be. The choice is yours.

If you’re interested in a very gentle “Writing Workshop Workshop,” I am holding monthly meetings in Cincinnati on Sunday afternoons. Check back often for the date and time.

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I don’t believe in it. I used to tell my college students and still tell those attending my writers’ workshops that there are two types of people who experience writers’ block: people who have never been introduced to the tools to avoid or overcome it and people who people who use it as an excuse to get out of working. Then they can talk about “their muse” and charter a plane to fly off to the Bahamas to sip Mojitos on the beach. Then I talk about “Prewriting, Freewriting and Rewriting.” Right now, I’ll just talk about “Prewriting.”

Prewriting activities are those things you do before you need to write. You need to know how you work best, and you need to have the correct tools on hand for the job.

Getting to Know You (and Your Preferences)

When I was in grade school, my teachers gave me very rigid conditions under which I had to do my homework. I had to have a strong light (some teachers even went so far as to specify fluorescent vs. incandescent, the wattage and which shoulder the light should be beaming over). I had to sit in a straight-backed wooden chair, at a student desk, with my feet flat on the floor. There could be no music or any other distracting sound. I could not eat or drink while I worked but I was supposed to get up every 15 minutes or so to stretch my legs.

Sounds like a good recipe for really creative processes, doesn’t it?

No, I didn’t think so, either.

I often ignored my teachers and did my homework lying on my stomach on the family room couch while listening to the New Christy Minstrels or Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra performing Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture.”

If your grade school teachers were like mine, I am hereby giving you permission to get those demons out of your head. Intentionally consider under what conditions you write best.

For example, when I am writing nonfiction (such as this blog), I compose best directly on the computer. However, when I am writing fiction (such as my novel), I compose best long hand on regular, old-fashioned lined paper. The pen and the paper I choose depend on my mood. What chair and my position in it also depend on my mood.

And I still like to listen to Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture.”

Answer These Statements for Yourself:

My favorite chair to sit in while I write _______________________________________________________

Do I compose best on a computer or in long hand? ________________________________________________________

The type of pen I like best ________________________________________________________

Music that makes me feel creative _________________________________________________________

My favorite snack to have on hand while I work __________________________________________________________

My favorite drink and how it should be served ___________________________________________________________

(One of my friends notes in answer to the last one that the drink doesn’t matter so much as who is serving it: a tanned pool boy.)

Next you should consider when your best time of day is for what type of work. In a corporate setting, you might not have any control over this. If the boss comes to you and asks you to write something immediately, you can’t quite say, “Not now, boss; I would do much better at that if you come back in two hours.”

However, if you do have any control over your daily schedule, think about how your personal body clock operates. For example, I am a morning person. I think best in the morning and I am at my most creative in the morning. I try to get all my writing done before 1 or 2 in the afternoon.

After that, I do tasks that require my getting up and moving around. Otherwise, I get fairly sleepy and dull at that point. I also save phone calls for that time of day, if I can. (Yes, that means I am talking to people at my slowest times. Given my normal talking speed, it probably helps.)

I was asked to give a talk once to a group of inner-city high school students about writing careers and the importance of writing in other careers. First I gave them permission to slouch when they did their homework at home. Then I asked them if any of them hated writing. One young man, a football star, said that he hated writing but he wanted to be an engineer. His friends kind of mocked him when he said he wanted to be an engineer.

I asked him if he liked to sign his name on checks. He said he liked that.

I told him that people who could write better tend to get paid better. He said he liked that, too.

I told him that if you didn’t practice writing that when you had to do it, it was harder. I asked him if he had a big game coming up the following weekend and he said that he did. I said, “So I suppose you’re just sitting around this week doing nothing then, right? Hoping that when you hit the field you’ll be able to do what you have to do?” He said no, they had practice every day so that they could be in shape and know what the plays were.

I told him that writing was just like that. And all he had to do was find some topic that excited him, some pen or pencil that he liked to write with and some paper or computer that he liked to write on. Then I asked him every day to just jot down a couple of thoughts of his own or responses to something he heard someone else say. Then his writing would get stronger and stronger. Will you do that for me? I asked him. “Yes,” he said quietly. “You’re doing it for me now,” I told him, “but it’s really going to be for you down the road.”

Now: Go crank up that Tchaikovsky or AC/DC or Dead Paintball League, grab a quill pen or iPad and slouch your way to better writing!

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