It Pays to Workshop Your Writing

Last Saturday, I took my first “real” writing workshop in a year. When I say this was a “real” workshop, meaning it wasn’t a talkfest where people just exchanged abstract ideas on writing or talked about their publishing credentials for the full class time, like some workshops I’ve taken in the past. For four hours, myself and ten other writers workshopped samples of projects we’re working on with a Senior Editor at a major publishing house. The experience was both exciting and scary, as I let go of “my baby”, a project I’ve been working on for some months now, and shared an excerpt of it with complete strangers.

This workshop was filled with women writers of all ages, mostly professional women, from New York, Georgia, Texas and other areas. We all read our work, gave copies of our work to the other participants and braced ourselves for the critique. Our instructor gave us some insider tips to the publishing industry and what it takes for an editor to acquire your work. I found the process extremely helpful. Even though I am a published writer, I very much consider myself a newbie in the world of writing and publishing and I am always open to learning as much as I can. Halfway through the class I realized I knew one of the women there, as she previously worked for a literary organization in New York City (now she’s raising a family in the suburbs) that I used to frequent. This woman and I exchanged contact information after the class and the rest of us swapped email addys to keep in touch and provide support for one another during our writing process.

When I returned home that evening, I immediately turned on my computer and began making necessary revisions to my work, based on the critique I received. Our instructor, a veteran editor, was open to all of us keeping in contact with her, which is absolutely awesome. She gave me some really valuable feedback which motivated me even further to enhance my writing. And even if nothing comes of my project right away, at least I had the experience of gaining greater knowledge in something I have true passion for.

The lesson I learned here: it pays to workshop your writing and have it critiqued. Friends and family can be your #1 fans, and rave about what they think is an absolute masterpiece, but leave it to the professionals to give you to real scoop on language, structure, etc. Sometimes you need a third, fourth, fifth and even more eyes to look at your writing with an objective lens and help you fine tune something that you may have missed.

So, here are some resources which offer affordable writing workshops (and even free), especially if you’re in the New York City area. Writer’s workshops can really help you bust through your writer’s block, stagnant stories, or other troublesome writing snags. And you may end up getting a great network out of it.

Publishing workshops at The Learning Annex

Writing and Publishing workshops at MediaBistro

Poetry workshops with Cave Canem

Writing workshops with Gotham Writers