I've just spent four hours with 13 other writers, immersing ourselves in a workshop that involved 'prompt writing': exercises that you get entirely fresh, no preparation, and with a time limit.
The goal is to generate as much material as possible – first draft writing – and the emphasis is on the act of generation, rather than grammar, spelling, or the tasks that come with revision.
This is the fifth such session I’ve organised for the writers’ workshop I run. Despite it being the first day of the weekend (here in the Middle East) we left more energised than when we straggled in at 2pm.
After the 15 or so minutes of writing (or typing) as fast as you can, you have the opportunity to share your work out loud. The electricity felt as people read and heard fresh comments on what stood out from their particular pieces was palpable; if only you could bottle this kind of energy up and have it on hand when you trudge to your desk, alone, at home.
But this energy can be replicated. Perhaps not every day, but by joining a bi-monthly or weekly writers’ group you could get the sustenance you need for those hours of solitary work at the kitchen table or in carefully planned study.
For my next few posts, I will trace how I established the Doha Writers’ Workshop, out of sheer desperation for a writing community in an often physically and then artistically arid landscape. Hopefully you will glean some ideas of how to start a group of your own, or chime in to offer suggestions from groups you have participated in.
For now we will start with founding rule number one: writers may create, rewrite, and edit alone, but every writer needs readers.
Readers who give you feedback or ask clarifying questions are necessary; those who engage your story and offer suggestions are a goldmine. Often it’s best if this group isn’t your mother or Aunt Sally and if you are interested in being published commercially, an established readership is paramount to getting an agent or publisher interested in your work.
Who are your readers? How (and how often) do you receive feedback on your work?
Best wishes,
(Reading & Writing Development Director)
Thanks stef for sharing your experience. I think the key is to get what you want out of a group and sometimes, as in your case, that means moving on to find another. If the group isn't helping you meet your writing goals then often that's the best thing to do!
I joined a small new writers' group last year but it didn't work for me because the format was always the same, ie each writer had to read their work aloud; in effect it became more of a recital group. Though reading aloud is very useful when constructing narrative and dialogue, it loses something in 'translation' compared to reading from the page.
It is very easy to get readers who also write if you are prepared to review their work in return; some 'peer-review' sites require a minimum word-count upload, but novels etc do not need to be complete or fully edited even. Many of these sites have 'rankings' related to writing submitted and 'reader rankings' which suggest that the top-ranked are the best, but usually it is because these members know how to manipulate the system. However, there are many members of these sites who use them exclusively for exchanging feedback and ideas - I found this to be invaluable and have had hundreds of comments from readers since posting my work online.
I turned forty and decided to write a book. I thought I had story in me and, in my ignorance, thought that the hard part would be getting it down on the page. The act of writing has been a relevation; it flows like water, it is a natural as breathing. But, as Mohana says, 'every writer needs readers'. So, reassured by the fact that what landed on the page bore a pretty good resemblance to what I saw in my head, I decided to join a creative writing group.........
The instructor asked who wanted to read first. There was a dead silence while we all avoided each other's eyes. Evidently all of us had the same simultaneous thought, that the stories so great in our heads may not be so great in other people's heads. Indeed, our magnificent words might stutter and fall, might trip up and look utterly ridiculous once exposed to air.
But all of us eventually read our work out loud. I won't lie to you, tonyl and joey; at times it was painful and disappointing, and it was always nerve wracking, but reading to a group of strangers willing to offer critique really helps to hone a story. They are able to approach your writing without using their familiarity with you to guess at your meaning or intentions. Of course, it's also brilliant when a group of strangers likes your story for no reason other than it has touched them in some way!
Best of luck, keep writing and looking out for those readers!