Hello World!
I spent the weekend at the Write on the Sound (WOTS) Conference. I'm so glad. What an infusion of information and motivation!
On Friday afternoon, I attended a special workshop where 10 fiction writers read and shared possible edits and structural changes on each other's writing. The leader was a Community College writing professor and author. I met some good people (one from Denver, CO!) and learned quite a bit about how writers work together.
One thing that became evident is that such workshops are not a great place to take your worst writing. How do I know? Well, guess who was naive enough to do so? Yep.
We sent in 10 pages of text that was distributed to the other writers. I figured that since I had this chance, I'd send 10 pages that I was really struggling with. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Most of the writers and the leader seemed unsure what to do with my pages, though the leader intends to e-mail additional thoughts. One participant gave back little more than a statement that the writing held no interest for him/her. (I'm not sure interest should have been the deciding factor in whether or not to give feedback, but that is a different issue.)
Most people presented work in progress at a higher level of revision than mine. About half brought work that bordered on polished. One woman's work was so far along in the process that all I could really do was list the questions I would want to answer if I were able to read on. I hoped that knowing how one reader's mind worked might be helpful. Giving critique can be quite challenging!
The best result from this experience so far, aside from learning what level of work to submit and discovering the difficulty of critique, was that another writer, DIane, and I plan to work together, reading and commenting on each other's novel. I have wanted to do this with someone for over a year, so I am very excited. Hopefully, by the time Diane next encounters the 10 pages I submitted, if they are in no better shape (a false assumption, I hope), she will better understand how they fit into the story, be able to follow what is going on, and thereby share useful feedback with me. And I will get to read more of her novel, a YA story that already has captured me!
I have lots more to write about the conference, but I think I'll stop for today. I want to encourage other writers to attend a writer's conference, especially if you feel stuck and want a boost in motivation. You may also get a fresh pallet of tools to apply as well!
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One thing I got from Natalie Goldberg was her constant reminder to keep writing. Didn't you? Don't view your decision to submit work that needed more work, as you suggested, "dumb, dumb, dumb,". Go back, re-write it. Take the advice of those critiquers. Read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. You have every email address to the group. Resend your ten pages after you've rewritten them. Make us cry for more!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like it was a worthwhile experience even if you regret the choice you made on what to submit. How could you know? It makes sense to me to ask for help on a section you are having trouble with rather than one that feels finished. How great that you now have someone to exchange writing ideas with. Write on!
ReplyDeleteThanks Angie and Janet,
ReplyDeleteDon't worry. I'm dying to write, especially after all the great stuff I learned last weekend! Thanks for your encouragement!!
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