It’s Called Workshopping
Feb 2024 | Diary entry from a Master’s in Creative Writing
So January rolled around, I went back to work after the Christmas break and then term two, casual-like, walked into view with classes starting back on the 24th January(!) I try not to remind myself how much this education is going to cost me, embrace the wonderful student pace again, and tell myself, this is not work. This is not work.
So, to workshopping¹. We’d had a taste of it in term one, but this is the real thing. A whole module just workshopping. I’ve been told by full-time students and lecturers alike, that workshopping is where the shit is. The blood of the party. The literary foxhole. Workshopping is the art crit of writing (my only reference point from my Art ‘A’ level and many years in design). The way it works, your writing gets reviewed by your peers and they give you constructive criticism. And you there’s. And it’s mandated. I was kinda stoked about it.
There are rules to workshopping, and there’s not a matter of Fight Club about them. However, finding my class in the maze of ‘villas’ that make up the School of Humanities does give it the whiff of ‘First rule of workshopping is you do not find workshopping.’ But after the first term, I was prepared. And students had already formed WhatsApp informant groups. So none will get left behind this term. Incidentally, my go-to group is called ‘Oldest.’ It sounds very literal. Almost anti-creative. I like it. And the chatter on the channel too.
So to workshopping. The rules are (broadly):
- Work to be shared by ‘Sunday tea-time’ (our class is on Wednesday)
- Each student is to write a few paragraphs of their thoughts and observations for each piece being ‘workshopped’
- Don’t write to the person (‘Oi Dave’), write to the anonymous author
- Focus on what you liked and didn’t like. Be subjective, and not personal
- In class, if your piece is being workshopped, you gotta shut up and can only take notes. You are not there²
- If you are a reviewer, you take turns and read out your paragraphs
- Then you discuss it with the group. In front of whoever is getting ‘workshopped’ (see kick-in). And they are not there²
- Once done, they will invite the author ‘back into the room’
- And — this is really important — you DO NOT defend your work, but take the kick-in (or praise) simply and with a few words only²
And that’s it. Oh, 5000 words a fortnight. Go!
Additionally, I had a small palaver³ as I’d suggested writing a novella, which knocked me ‘down’ into the short story group. Words were exchanged, and MT said ‘I’m going to need to keep an eye on you I can see.’ Then MT pulled me into her class. That’ll teach me. And further punished (advised me) that the story I’d spent the Christmas lining up was probably not right for me. For info, it was a 1990s London, dotcom entrepreneur getting in trouble with mind vampires kinda thing. ‘Let's get back to that sci-fi from last term eh’ and ‘Come on, you gotta push yourself you wimp.’ I paraphrase.
So what did I do? Well I wrote and I wrote. Made some pictures (like the one above). I plotted and re-plotted. I dug DOWN DEEP and reminded myself how much this education was gonna cost me and embraced that wonderful student pace again.
I couldn’t stop my juvenile self from popping out though. I wrote a scene with my protagonist masturbating in a bar. That was a worry taking to class. But hey, I’m discovery-writin’-here.
And workshopping, what’s it like? Scary, revealing, and probably an effective way to highlight what you’re doing wrong. So, there’s that.
¹ Workshopping. For anyone involved in the design or almost any workplace endeavor where you have workshops, this is not like that at all. It does feel similar to an art crit, but also very different as the students around you are criticizing and discussing your work. Not just the teacher or lecturer.
² You are not there. Yes, I struggled like a right ranty-little, struggling thingy in my first session. Had to be told to shut up multiple times by MT
³ Palaver is ‘unnecessary work and trouble’ (Cambridge Dictionary)
Author’s note: a diary of sorts across my course, an MA in Creative Writing. I’d pretend it’s in the Week Notes vain, but I can’t seem to bash one out every week. For more, see my Uni Days Diary.
