Workshop Writing Critiques

Today marks the completion of The University of Iowa’s 8 week “How Writers Write Fiction” class . The moderators of the class chooses a participant’s story to discuss and dissect in their workshops at the end of each assignment. I was astonished to get an email from one of the class Moderators, telling me that my story “Inside Bailey’s Department Store” was chosen for critique, along with that of another writer, from our last class assignment called “Revision and Rediscovery.”

 

Let’s just say, this is not my first rodeo and prior experiences weren’t very comforting! I didn’t know how to take this news and I didn’t want to read what an oasis of established writers and authors had to say about my work. What if I never recovered from the sharp scrutiny?

The revised version of a story I wrote, called “Inside Bailey’s Department Store” was compared to the original story. The story’s protagonist is a ten-year old girl facing down her bullies in a dept store. All Sam wanted to do was buy a couple of mystery books by Ellery Queen.

Here are some of the critiques to my story:

In my opinion, Clara is particularly good at tying precise details to character.  Some examples from her original:

He was turning the page to a Popular Science magazine and muttering to himself.

She had waited a long time to buy  ‘City of Gold and Shadows’, the new mystery by Ellis Peters whose books were her favorites, next to the Ellery Queens mysteries.

Sam wasn’t afraid to fight, but, she was taught to avoid it if she could, so even though she just felt like the wind had been knocked out of her, Sam retreated from the school grounds and a quickly gathering crowd of animated kids.  (This might have worked better expressed with more action or dialog, but had it been in the revision, it would have made her telling on the kids at the end more believable.)

Your suggestion to focus on writing what we’re good at and not our failures is so helpful to me as I prepare to review exercises from this course for revision.  What a great parting gift Christa.  Thank you!

In the revised version, Clara has cut out all the little storytelling details that don’t directly address the main event and I think the piece is so much stronger because of this.  We don’t get sidetracked by secondary characters who have no real part in the story and instead can concentrate on the three girls.  We understand Sam, the reader, eagerly saving her pocket money and we understand the two bullies who are also budding thieves.  I love the neat ending where the bullied reacts in a clever way.  She may pay for this the next day but for now she can make a stand and enjoy the consequences.  What a great revision.

Moira, it is a quite a satisfying ending, isn’t it? If the story were freed of the 400-word constraint, how would you feel about the extra characters and storytelling details? In other words, do you think the word limit makes them extraneous or do you think they are actually extraneous?Yes, what they all said. This is a highly effective revision. The first one has some lovely descriptions, but then puts me outside the scene hearing what’s happening between the girls. The revision brings the scene to life with an immediacy and a directness that puts me with the girls. I agree that the detail of the place is lost, which is not critical to me if this is a standalone piece but I’d be more interested if Bailey’s had relevance to a wider story. I also agree that all the measurement details are a bit distracting. It’s enough to know that the bullies are bigger, and intimidating. Oh, and the dialogue in the revision was far more powerful, believable and effective. I wasn’t particularly buying the line ​’You are plain and ugly and you have no friends!” Mary said . and the use of indirect speech had a distancing effect on me.

 I think it would be interesting to imagine this as a longer piece in which Bailey’s has some critical role in multiple storylines. Your comments are spot in about the immediacy and directness in the second version. I think that the emotional distances are greater in the first draft. I do love so many things about the first draft, however. Most particularly, I adore the setting that is established inside the store. I hope that Clara is able to meld the best of these two versions into one story later.

I agree with frostyfreya that the measurement details are distracting and unnecessary.

Also, most of the world outside of the U.S. uses the metric system, not our antiquated English system of measurement. To those folks, heights like 4’9″ don’t mean anything.

I suppose from these and other professional writers opinions/critiques, I might have a “writing” chance! I enjoyed participating in this online class. It was a massive gathering of writers worldwide, who came to write and share with their colleagues. I highly recommend The IWP MOOC for newbies and seasoned writers.

How do you feel about having your work critiqued?

Words To A Great Novel

November is National Novel Writing Month. It’s where writers commit to writing their novel in one month. Although, I know colleagues who have participated in NaNoWriMo, I didn’t this time around because I enjoy writing at my own pace, but I know the point is to challenge you to actually complete your novel! I don’t know if I could do it because I’d probably spend more time counting the words, instead of actually writing:)

I’m overly concerned about how many words I have to write, in order to finish my WIP. I think this concern might have me taking writing classes, instead of executing what I already know onto the page of my book. So, I’m wondering about this dilemma and have done research into how many words makes for a great novel and one that feels complete.

The general consensus is that publishers are interested in the word count of a completed manuscript. If published authors or publishers can add to the dialogue on this, please enlighten us. Because I want to go the traditional publishing route with my WIP, I wouldn’t feel comfortable with less than 50,000 words, although I read an 80 page eBook recently and enjoyed it! Still, eBooks could be the exception, instead of the rule.

I’m in agreement with the quote that says, “Easy reading is damn hard writing.” I want to know what’s going to make the writing process easier for me at this point with my WIP. I want to know how many words it takes before a book is complete?
30,000 words equal roughly 100 pages of a manuscript. Granted if you’re writing an e-book, finishing at this point could suffice and satisfy the reader.
I’ve reviewed books up to 300 pages and I’m not trying to hear that:) but popular opinion amongst writers is that you write until you know you have nothing else to say.

Here’s what I found from doing a bit of research on the acceptable length for writing a novel.

Novellas could equal up to 20,000 words
Novels are 40, 000 to 60,000 words and above
Memoirs are debatable personal works. I once read a memoir with only 80 pages and enjoyed it. The normal length seems to take shape around 30,000 to upwards of 50,000 words.

I want to hear from published authors and those writers who are still doing the hard work, leading to the road to publication. How many words did it take for you to get to the sweet end of your Novel?

Five Reasons To Take An Online Writing Class

“Easy reading is damn hard writing.” I think writers on every level can find some truth in that quote . Writing is work. As writers and creatives, the time will come when we’ll want to ensure that we’re creating our best work. Taking an online writing class can help writers oil those tired, overworked creative muscles and release the frustration that comes with the territory of  being a writer.

Here are five reasons to take an online writing class:

1. Convenience. Online writing classes fit into the busyness of your professional and personal writing calendar. You can easily plug into an assignment at the least stressful time of your day. Early mornings to midday afternoon works for me.

2.Think Like A writer- once you start your classes, your mind is focused on creating characters and you will be re-introduced on how to think like a writer, in that you’ll began to take notice of your surrounding and the people you come in contact with. You will, essentially, become a silent camera lens taking pictures of life happening all around you that are the conversations, mannerisms, languages and voices  at work.

3. Class Participation is really a community of writers who come together for a common cause. There are Amazon bestseller writers, credentialed authors with MFA’s and English majors who teach at community colleges and institutions. There are newbies and established writers needing that ‘something’ extra to complete a WIP.

Online writing classes mesh writers of every caliber who come to enhance their work, participate in writer conversation and offer constructive criticism or feedback to their peers.

4.Understand the ‘Art” of storytelling- when I was a little girl, my parents would gather us all for family times. My siblings and I would pile excitedly into the small space of our parent’s bedroom at night to be regaled by their “Stories.” Some stories would be recalled from childhood; taken from special memories of times spent with their own parents. Some stories were traces of history, where they recounted early life struggles that came from living in the demographic of a racial South.

I loved the ‘ghost stories’ that only my mother could tell and make the telling so realistic. There’s an art to storytelling that reaches beyond plot,character, dialogue and conflict. My mother had that gift of telling stories that comes from the inside.

5.Personal Gratification and Self-Validation- Writers  oftentimes look to other writers and the world at large to validate their work. Taking online classes at this stage in my career as a writer, only reinforces what I’ve known for many, many years. I am a writer! I might not be where I want to be in this writing arena, but I’m where I’m happiest, doing what I love to do. I grew up hearing stories and learning how to read and write them for myself. I am now writing them for others to read and hopefully enjoy.  I’m so comfortable in this space of self-validation.

Creative folks wear many hats. I write from many genres and perspectives. I love that I can do that. Taking online writing classes is the cream that enhances my creative crop:)

‘Treat yourself special ” CF

 

Have you taken an online writing class? Feel free to chime in with your experiences or to ask questions that might concern you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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