Whistle While You Workshop

Not literally (I can’t whistle). If you’ve ever taken a creative writing class, you know what workshopping is. For some, it’s a dreadfully vulnerable experience, but for others, it’s the most exciting thing to experience. It’s the first real opportunity to show your work to your peers and receive genuine feedback. Workshops present the chance to see what works and what doesn’t in a low-stakes environment.

Even if you’re not part of a larger community, or if you’ve never taken a class, there’s usually someone who you share your work with (and if you don’t have someone, let me know!). Here, we’ll discuss how important it is to workshop and what benefits you can reap from it.

Building Community

When you workshop as a writer, you put yourself out into the world to have your work critiqued. In this process, you invite others from similar circles into your world–both literally and metaphorically– to see where you’ve done well and where you can improve. This process, while it can be nerve-wracking, is invaluable to you as a writer.

Aside from the helpful feedback that can refine your work, you build connections with other writers. Having professional relationships and friendships with like-minded people who are as invested in your work as you are in theirs enables you to have support. A community of writers is the best way to ensure you receive quality feedback, gain advice for the next steps with your work, and develop a rapport with other creative individuals.

A Fresh Pair of Eyes

In addition to building a relationship with the community, workshops allow you to get fresh eyes on your writing. You’ve been steeped in your work for so long that you’ve likely developed a few blind spots. For example, I’ve read the first three chapters of my manuscript so many times, I can taste the first line. It’s burned into my brain.

Knowing this, I can easily miss a few things when revising my work. Typos, sentence fragments, and grammar mistakes can be brushed over as I read through because I’ve grown accustomed to having them there. A fresh pair of eyes can easily catch these minor mistakes and help you work on them to complete a polished manuscript. They can also help you discover any words you favor and use a little too often. Workshopping is like spring cleaning for your work, and it feels so good to remove the clutter in your writing.

Discussion and Revision

After workshops, you can discuss new ideas with the community around you. You can also prepare to revise your work by applying the new feedback. New information can reshape your work and help you fill in any blanks you’ve been having. Any places in your writing that fall flat or could use some help will likely be spotted by readers who don’t have all the information you do.

You can also learn where your writing may need additional details or clarification. Revision is an important step of the writing process, and having people to discuss it with during the workshop is a wonderful opportunity! While it can cause stress, keep an open mind and take notes about feedback to review later. You can use what you learn from your peers to make your work the best version of itself.

Conclusion

Whether or not you workshop your writing, it’s up to you. It can be a difficult thing when you’re not confident in your work, but take comfort in knowing that the people you workshop with have your best interests at heart. They’re not there to tear you down, they want to help you refine your work.

There’s a lot to be gained from workshop experiences, such as the development of relationships, the crucial feedback for revision, and the vital discussions about the writing process. Step outside of your comfort zone and reach out to others who have the same desire to write! You won’t regret getting the chance to share your work.