Workshop 2

About Workshop 2

Introduction

Yet another reminder for those who need it: The second half of this course is where you apply all the knowledge/skills you acquired in the first half of this course. The creative writing you develop comes out of the material you developed in Workshop 1, which came out of everything you learned and wrote in the first half of the course. 

For Workshop 1, you submitted the first few pages of a short story, and a few pages of poetry.

For Workshop 2 and beyond, you’ll apply your new knowledge/skill set in continuing to write and revise one of the following:

the short story 

the poetry

• This class is more about the creative process than the creative product. With that in mind, you are strongly encouraged to take risks in your writing in this workshop with a new point of view, try a different rhyme scheme, etc. There are no mistakes in the creative process because even a “misstep” teaches you something important about writing craft, what will/will not work in your story/poetry, and why.
• Whether your risk-taking results in stronger creative work or not, risk-taking provides you with more opportunities for learning and reflection, which is a big part of the Final Exam reflective essay. Your course grade is based largely on the writing process you engage in, not how good your final story/poetry is. So, go ahead, try something different. Ask “what if…” Be a true creator!

What to Do (and Tips for Success)

Revise either the fiction or the poetry that you submitted for Workshop 1, as well as add at least 2 more pages.  Your draft at the point of Workshop 2 must be at least 4 pages long.

Only include the genre that you are continuing to work with in your Workshop 2 draft. Meaning: if you are going to continue with your fiction, don’t include the poetry in your Workshop 2 draft. If you’re going to continue with your poetry, don’t include your fiction in the Workshop 2 draft,

Remember, if your writing contains sexual assault or rape, self harm, suicide, graphic violence, racist or homophobic language/slurs, etc., add a content/trigger warning at the top of your draft.  Remember to consider your current audience; our campus and this class is quite diverse. No one’s work will be censored in this class, but out of empathy and kindness for those in need, it is important to offer a “heads up” when content is potentially problematic. If your work contains these and you do not include a content warning for your readers, your submission will be removed from the Workshop process, and your group members will not read or respond to your work.  

1. You will be assigned new group members for Workshop 2. Read their drafts, and then post response letters to those new drafts on the “Workshop 2 – Responses” page assigned to you.

What To Do

1. Step 1: The Draft

Create a new copy of your Workshop 1 draft (be sure that your new file’s name makes it clear that this is a Workshop 2 draft).

1. Adjust your MLA-formatted heading to reflect the new draft’s date

Under your heading, add a content warning if your submission contains sensitive material (sexual assault, graphic violence, self-harm, etc.).  See the Workshop Content Warning page for details on this.

1. Choose whether you want to continue writing your fiction, or your poetry.

If you have decided that you will continue to work on your short story, remove the poetry in your new draft.

If you have decided that you will continue to work on your poetry, remove the fiction in your new draft.

Revise and expand the writing you have in the draft already. You can take the responses you got in Workshop 1 or not; it’s up to you.  Or, you may start fresh if you don’t want to continue working with anything from your Workshop 1 draft.

1. If you’re working on a short story, revise and add new writing until you have at least 4 double-spaced pages of the story written.

If you’re working on poetry, revise the existing poems, and add new poetry until you have at least 4 single-spaced pages of poetry (4 pages of poetry, not 4 poems). Boldface your poem titles, and leave a little white space between each poem—enough to show readers where one poem ends and the next one begins.

• Did your Workshop 1 draft already have four pages of the genre you want to focus on? You don’t have to add four more pages, but you do need to revise and make changes; don’t turn in the same writing twice.
   

Add a working title to the top of your draft (beneath your heading). Center it on the page.

1. How to Submit

Open a new reply box to this Discussion.

In the box, you may add anything you’d like your group members to know beforehand, such as a content warning, what inspired it, etc.

1. Attach your draft’s file. Click here for instructions.

Your draft must be a Microsoft Word .doc or .docx file. Do not post Google Drive links, .pdfs, .pages, or other file types, because many of us can’t open those (especially if we’re using the Canvas app on our phones).

• If you run into any issues, please check “Canvas and Tech Support” in Module 0’s “Student Support and Information” page.
• Step 2: The Workshop

Within 48 hours of the due date for your original post, do the following:

1. Find your assigned workshop group members below. Then, read your group members’ drafts.

If someone in your group has not provided a draft by noon the day after the submission deadline, or posts later than that, you are not obligated to read or respond to it.  This will not harm your Workshop grade in any way.

• If you are responding to a short story, tackle the following:
• Based on what you’ve read so far, what do you think the writer is exploring or questioning about the human condition? What theme are they working with?

What’s working well here, especially when it comes to craft? You don’t need to comment on every single craft element, just focus on the ones that seem most significant in the work. For example, you might discuss in detail how the author is sticking to a traditional plot structure (or not), or using setting, or imagery, or characterization, in a unique way.

Finally, note questions that the work raises for you as a reader. Questions can address the content of the work, or the craft of the work. For example, you might ask how Bob, who had two broken legs on page 2, found himself dancing at a club on page 3. Or you might ask why the author chose the first person POV, or why the author chose to use past tense rather than present tense. Be sure to explain why the work raises your questions (in other words, don’t ask questions just for the sake of asking questions). Look for areas in the work that make you curious or confused, and develop questions from that.

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