Workshopping is, as I’ve said before, an invaluable aid to a writer. I’ve come out of these sessions with a new viewpoint of both my own writing and that of others. They catch what you’ve missed, they catch what you’ve tried to slide by them, and they offer suggestions that often are the answer that’s been elusive throughout the writing, although you’ve worked very hard to feel and find it.
There is an air of professionalism that you develop so that it’s easy to take the blows when they land. After all, this is your child they are discussing. After a while, even though it still may hurt a bit, you’ve developed a poker face and learn to listen very carefully to what is being said because the advice is usually key to the success of your story.
That professional countenance and receptivity extends to the good times as well. Last night, I can only only hope that cool prevailed, and that I wasn’t physically bouncing in my seat.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology
I really have to commend you for this leap of faith … I’m much too insecure or self-deprecating to throw my writing into the ring to be picked apart (although anyone that keeps a blog is really doing some version of that anyway). It has to be tough to stay silent and just let it pour over you, but then there are those times when you are greedy for even more … when someone really GETS it … those times are just as valuable to you as a writer as those times when someone details a valid and valuable window of opportunity for growth.
May you have a plentiful balance of both 🙂