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Guidelines and Advice
for Writers’ Village University Workshops
by R.J. Hembree
- Please do not post your work unless you plan on exchanging
critiques with others. The most common complaint about on-line
workshops is that they are often unfair by nature (this often happens
in off-line workshops too). The reason they seem unfair is because
some writers will post their work, receive critiques from others, but
not return the favor. Another injustice occurs when the quality of the
critiques are not reasonably equal in effort, regardless of
experience.
- Even a beginning writer has something valuable to say.
Writers need to have an idea of how readers will react to their work,
and, unless you’re writing for specific academics, it isn’t likely
that the average reader will read your fiction with the same critical
eye an experienced writer. Think of the critiques you receive as a
public survey on your work. Some comments will be from writers less
experienced than yourself and some will come from more experienced
writers. You, as the author, are the final judge of a critique’s
value.
- Do not defend your work. If your work is not understood, then
it either needs to be clarified or the person offering the critique
wasn’t reading closely enough. Let it go. If one person
misreads your work, don’t worry about it, but if several say the
same thing, then it is worth reconsidering. Again, our readers will
not always read as closely as we’d like. What is important is to
understand what they are likely to miss and what parts leave the
strongest impressions. Think of a scene from Don Quixote. Most of us
will think of our chivalrous hero at battle with the windmill. We may
have an equally memorable scene in our own works, and it won’t take
an expert to call it to our attention. We want to know what jumps off
the page, even in a misreading ... or rather, especially in a
misreading. One of the best way to find the most powerful parts of
your work is to have someone skim over it and report the results; then
go back over it a second time for a closer reading.
- Use tact in your critiques. We communicate entirely
through text while on-line. We don’t have the benefit of vocal
shifts, smiles or raised eyebrows to help communicate our thoughts, so
we must choose our words very carefully. It is very easy to be
misunderstood on the internet. One of the most useful words in a
workshop is "consider." Rather than saying, "I think
you should change this part because it is confusing,." you could
say, "Consider changing this part for clarity." The later
wording leaves the author with a better sense of control with
additional options. The best critiques inspire the author to look for
creative solutions and more effective alternatives.
- Do not write the work for the author. It is very tempting to
inflict our own ideas on an author in our critiques. It’s a natural
impulse for writers, but one we should curb if we are to be helpful.
So avoid comments that give specific story changes. If there is a
characterization or plot problem, it is better to simply point it out
and explain why you had a problem with it.
- Be specific. It is of no value to simply say you like or
dislike something. Saying "Awesome!" doesn’t help a writer
grow. We need to know why it is awesome so we can do it again. If you
don’t like something, try to determine why. For example, if the hero
does something you don’t like, it is better to tell the author,
"The hero seems to jump out of character at this point. Earlier,
on the 14th paragraph, he said this and did that, then in the 30th
paragraph this happened. Is this what you intended?" Also be
specific about your favorite scenes, lines and descriptions.
Especially the most memorable ones.
- No pain, no gain. Criticism hurts. Anybody that says
different needs to have their pulses checked. Some of us can deal with
it better than others, but all of us would rather hear a compliment
than a criticism. Writers are generally sensitive people; we have to
be in order to write. My first workshops in college seemed vicious at
the time. "How could these people be so cold and heartless?
Don’t they know I’ve got feelings? I’ll show them! I’ll never
write again!" I took everything as a personal attack in the big
way. "Why can’t these people see what I meant? It’s plain as
day to me!" Unfortunately and fortunately, everyone comes to a
workshop with a different set of life experiences and can not read our
minds. Writing is learning. It is important to know how our own life
experiences compare with other’s. This is why we read and why we
write: to find how we fit into the grand puzzle. So the pain we feel
from the criticism is exactly what we need to find our differences and
come closer to understanding our relationship to others, and this
helps us to write so that others will understand us better.
- Posting Limits.
- Short Stories: No more than three (3) at a time.
- Novels: No more than three (3) chapters at a time.
- Poetry: No more than six (6) at a time.
- Suggested length for critiques
- Short stories: 500 to 1500 words
- Novels (per chapter): 500 to 1500 words
- Poems: 250 to 1000 words.
- For the Novel in particular, an outline or synopsis should be
posted with your chapters. This will help readers offer better quality
critiques because they can read chapters with context awareness.
- Proofread first!!!!! Don’t expect writers to proofread for
you. Make sure your work is as error-free as possible before you post
it. Of course, there will always be errors; most newspapers have
several copy editors go over each story, and they still make mistakes.
Do the best you can so readers won’t be distracted from your story
or poem.
Things to consider when writing critiques:
- Characterization - Can you identify with the characters?
- Plot - Is there a continuous thread of suspense?
- Setting - Are the sensory details effective?
- Voice and Tone - Is the narrative voice consistent and unobtrusive
(sometimes narrator intrusion is intentional and works)?
- Rhythm and Pace (sentence structure variations for effect)
- Theme - Are there identifiable themes, and which are the strongest?
- Meaning - Find at least one meaning in the work (this could be
different for everyone, but is helpful for the writer to know).
- Conflict - Are the stakes and the conflicts surrounding them clear?
- Resolutions - Does the story have a satisfying ending?
- Dialogue - Is the dialogue natural sounding? Is it easy to read?
- Suspension of disbelief - Are you carried into the story and willing
to let it come to life as you read, or do to many things pop-up to
remind you that it is only fiction. (some postmodern work plays with
the suspension of disbelief)?
- Clarity - Do the words seem invisible as you read, and do you have
enough information to enjoy the story?
- Opening lines - Does the beginning make you want to read more?
- Most memorable scenes or moments
- Best lines
- Most confusing parts
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