Workshop Guidelines

1) DON’T KILL BABIES. A writer spends a great deal of time and effort bringing a new piece of writing into the world, and the purpose of a workshop is to give the writer a safe space to present that new material. Be respectful of other writers’ feelings.

If you were to meet an actual baby, you would not say, “Jeez, can’t you even walk? What’s wrong with you? And — yuck! Use the toilet! And for heaven’s sake, speak English — I can’t understand a word you’re saying.” Consider that a new piece of writing needs a similar kind of understanding and patience, as well as guidance, in order to grow into what it wants to be.

2) A workshop is for showing WORK IN PROGRESS. Work in progress can be anything from an almost-finished piece that just needs a little polishing, to the barest beginnings of something that doesn’t yet know what it wants to be. Let the writer tell you where he or she is with the work before you respond to it; something brand new needs a different kind of treatment from something near completion.

3) As you respond to someone’s work, don’t just tell them your gut reaction. Think carefully about the writing, and try to give the author CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM. Saying “I loved this” is no more useful than saying “I hated it” — what helps the author is saying WHY the piece worked or didn’t work. Some examples:

• “This is the best thing I’ve ever read!” While this will make the author happy, it does not help him or her.

• “I liked this because I could identify with the character. But the ending didn’t work.” This is better, but still doesn’t tell the writer what he/she did right, or how to fix what’s wrong.

• “I liked this piece because the main character was so well-written that I could really understand what he was feeling, and that made me care about what happened to him. But in the last scene, everything happens so quickly that I couldn’t tell what was going on, and so it didn’t quite work for me. Try slowing down that scene.” This is the best kind of criticism a writer can get. It identifies what’s working well, diagnoses the problems, and suggests a way to improve the piece.

4) When you show your writing to a workshop (or to any roomful of people), you will get a lot of different responses. Some people will like it, some won’t; some will think it should go one way, some will insist that it go another. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO TAKE ALL THE ADVICE YOU GET. This is your work, after all. Try to keep an open mind as you hear people’s suggestions, but you are free to disregard any and all of what you’re told.

5) Finally, have A GOOD TIME! You’re here for the pleasure of the work; we hope you enjoy yourself.