My Role in the Workshop Setting

When I asked a fellow workshopper to give me feedback on my style in the workshop setting I was not surprised when I received an anecdote very similar to how I described myself in the system. This is because in workshops I have been accustomed to strict ground rules that are laid out at the beginning of the semester which I try to follow. Not only do I want my classmates to follow the guidelines when I am workshopped, but I like to avoid unnecessary commentary and hurting other people's feelings--mainly for fear that if I don't, my feelings will subsequently be hurt in the process as well. I feel that the more helpful I am to the students in my workshop, the more helpful they will be to me, and although I know this seems very obvious, is a very valuable guideline to remember in the workshop.

The two most important rules that a professor can lay out in a workshop before workshopping begins are: 1) Always start with one positive comment before giving one negative comment; 2) Try not to tell the writer what you did or did not like about the work, but rather where you see them going with the piece, and how they could more affectively get there. I think that the only reason why a workshop can go sour is if students do not follow the professors guidelines, and if the professor does not feel that he or she can properly mediate all of the students. When one student takes over in a workshop setting, it is difficult for the writer to get well-rounded advice, as some students tend to shy away when someone else speaks up too often.

Again, the response that I got from my workshop friend is very similar to my own idea of who I am in the workshop. This is what the other person had to say about me:

"You weren't a loud personality, but you made a point to say what you thought could be stronger. You talked more than I did, but not as much as [Jane] who speaks too much (name changed!). Sort of quiet, but not in a shy way. Never heard anything harsh from you and rarely a prescriptive comment. And I also noted you were overall more positive than negative. Your written comments were helpful because they included more than just surface observations. As you said, you try to help the writer do what they're trying to do."

Overall, I know what is most constructive for me in a workshop--kind people that I know I can trust, a group of people that I know will give me feedback but won't tear me down or lie to me that they think my work is better or worse than it is, and lastly, a group of people who care about the advancement of themselves as writers, and in turn of me as a writer--I like to feel that we are all in it together. I believe that I set the standards for how other people workshop me, which is measured almost equally by the standards at which I workshop them. A workshop is like a family, and can be as functional or dysfunctional as the people in that family agree or disagree to make it.

Thank you!

-Celine