"How to Workshop Your Writing" with John Pipkin

Workshops are a tried and true way to gain valuable feedback on a work-in-progress. Giving and receiving good workshop feedback is a learned skill that writers can develop and hone, and learning how to participate in and benefit from a workshop can be invaluable to any writer looking to take their craft to the next level. Allowing other writers to critique your work in a group setting (where you critique their work in turn) offers fresh eyes and a fresh perspective, helps you to zero in on problems you might be overlooking, strengthens your skills as a reader, and opens the way to communing with your peers in a safe, nurturing environment.

Upon registering, you will be emailed a selection of published stories to read before the class convenes. These stories will be the basis of an in-class critical discussion or “sample workshop.”

Through the lessons and handouts, you will leave the class with a greater understanding of…

— what to consider when reading works with a critical eye, including how to identify what is working within a piece and, just as important, what isn’t working and why, and how to identify the narrative structure and rhetorical strategies at work;
— how to “read like a writer” — tools for better understanding the technical aspects — the nuts and bolts — of storytelling and how to apply those techniques to your own stories;
— how to give feedback in a helpful and constructive way;
— how to accept feedback in a workshop and how to apply it to your work-in-progress.