Blog 4: Workshop

     The best part about being workshopped, was receiving constructive criticism. It was interesting to hear what others had to say in regards to my poem. The difficult part about being workshopped was receiving conflicting advice. It was confusing to hear one person offer a suggestion, and then another person say otherwise. Being workshopped is such a humbling experience- it is a reminder that writing is a process and is never done perfectly the 1st time. 
     To workshop was totally different because I was the one doing the critiquing. I know people, often times, take their work personally. Knowing that people can be sensitive about their work, it was pretty uncomfortable to have to offer suggestions and/or critique the poems. But as the saying goes, 2 heads are better than 1. And even better than 2 heads? 14! It was wonderful to collaborate as a group to help contribute to the masterpieces of one another. 
     It is difficult trying to decide how much I should change and/or edit the poem based on suggestions, while remaining true to my original context. It also difficult changing the lines and/or stanzas in ways that make sense to others. So many times I have a hard time conveying my thoughts into actual words. 

Workshop review

I found workshop to be a really fun, positive experience and a great tool in my writing. It was really great to get such positive feedback from the class. I'm not sure anyone notices, but it made me tear up a little.

One of the most difficult aspects was not being allowed to speak or answer the questions or comments people made in the course of the discussion, but just sitting back and listening to the ideas and critiques were having was an interesting experience. Some people had some conflicting ideas on what to change/ expand on, which  was interesting to think about. All the comments were very helpful, and I paid particular attention to the classes critiques on possible changes in the form and grammar. I actually did end up taking quite a bit of it into consideration when I re edited the poem again.  Even reading the poem aloud to the class helped in this, as poetry tends to sound different when spoken.

Overall it was such an enormously beneficial experience and it really helped. I am not ashamed to say I went home and re read over all the lovely things people said in their comments, grinning all the while.

Workshop

Workshop was better then I expected it to be. Honestly, I was nervous to have my poem critiqued. I was worried and unsure how to react to the criticism. Confrontation is not my forte. So, when my time came and I read my poem aloud, I was surprised by the responses I got from my classmates. Every part of my feedback was constructive and useful. I enjoyed it more then I thought I would.  It was cool when my own concerns about the poem were shared among the class. This gave me a chance to hear some helpful opinions on how to improve my piece.

The one thing I love about poetry is that you can read a poem and take what you want out if it, especially if its unclear on what it is about. A lot of the responses I got were “I’m not sure what its about, but I love the way it sounds” or “Its mysterious and I like it, it could really be about anything.”

In particular, someone said it was delicate; kind of like a song. This was a really important response for me. That is exactly what I was trying to go for when I wrote my poem. I wasn't looking for people to completely understand where I was coming from, I wanted to leave room for imagination. I appreciated everything that was said in workshop. I can only hope my comments on others poems are as helpful and useful as everyone else's were for myself.

In turn, I am grateful for having the opportunity to be work-shopped. I now understand what AG meant when she said it can be “addicting” It’s a weird thing to be thankful for, but I am! I'm currently working on rewriting my poem and I cant wait to re-share it with everyone.

Workshop Reflection

I have done a workshop once before. It was senior year of high school, I think, in my writing class. We workshopped short stories.

God damn, that workshop was not even real.

I learned almost nothing from that workshop. No one had any criticisms. No one had any thoughts about form, sentence structure, or grammar (the easiest thing to have thoughts about). If anyone did say anything, it was probably along the lines of "It was good" or "I liked it." I think Mr. McQueary probably shared my frustration with the class.

This workshop was the polar opposite, and it's probably because everyone who is in the class wants to be there, has a vested interest in creative writing, and was not forced to sign up for the class. I received criticism, praise, and analysis from my peers that helped me think of revisions and improvements before the workshop was even over. If anyone was critical, they were not malicious. If anyone was congratulatory, they were sincere.

Additionally, by being forced to read my poem in front of others, any delusions about its quality had to be swept away. And that's good; delusions about its quality had to be swept away. And that's good; delusions about the quality of your writing are bad. I think when poems are workshopped, it forces the author to humble him/herself and come down to earth. Someone who thought their poem was deep and meaningful might realize in a workshop that it was actually just hoity toity bullshit.

Not that anyone's poem was like that...

Workshop

Workshop was a very surprising experience for me to say the least. I have never much been bothered by other people's commentary on my life, whether said commentary regards me personally or academically. That's why I was surprised when workshop made me so nervous.  Throughout the workshopping of my poem, I found myself extremely tense. Not on the fact that I was being evaluated but because I was unable to offer any sort of explanation for my poem. It was unique to have to hold a certain confidence that your work will be able to stand on its own two feet. Being able to explain and defend your work when presenting it is a much different experience than having to offer something which you feel confident is transparent to your reader.
Another surprising thing about workshop for me is how much I thoroughly enjoyed helping my peers in the editing process. I found great joy from gaining an understanding of everyone's pieces and helping them prepare another draft. Analyzing the brilliant works of my peers and being able to offer assistance for their structure, wording, or even just a compliment enlightened me to the unique perspective I have to offer as a writer. I have found that I truly enjoy writing as a whole, not just the finished product but also the process of procuring something to be proud of.  This experience has inspired me to attempt to become involved in publishing, on both sides of the concept.
Finally, this experience in workshop has opened my eyes to the possibility of becoming published. I didn't imagine that publishing was such a tangible idea; I had always assumed that it instead was this impossible dream. Overall, I think that this workshop experience has been immeasurably beneficial to me as a writer.

Workshop Reflection

Workshop gives us an opportunity to get thorough feedback from our classmates on our work, which we don't get to do in many of the other classes we take. The result of revising our work with the help of our classmates will surely be great narratives. Workshop has taught me that the reader's interpretation of your work can sometimes be even better, or different, than your own. Overall, I believe that workshop has been a great experience and I look forward to seeing how all my classmates revise their works based on the feedback given in class.

poem workshop

I really enjoyed the workshop experience. At first I was a little apprehensive to have to read aloud in front of so many people, but having a bit of previous practice when we read in class sometimes definitely helped. I found it kind of funny listening to the class try to decipher peoples’ poems and to look at the face of the poet who so desperately wanted to blurt out what it was really about but had to wait until the end. Hearing so much good feedback definitely helps with confidence when writing. I also really liked the fact that people actually gave good constructive feedback that is beneficial to our work, rather than just saying nice things so they do not hurt anyone’s feelings.

When I first finished my poem I did not think there was much more I could do to change it, but from the class discussion I got so many insightful ideas about how to better change words and phrases that I think it really took my poem to a new level. I also found it really helpful to actually read my work aloud because when you hear it spoken from your lips rather than just in your head it is easier to point out which parts need to be worked on more and which parts work really well. I also like the fact that the whole class reads over / edits our work, rather than just having it edited by one peer because you get so many different ideas and feedback to work with. I finally see what Professor Groner meant by the fact that workshopping can be addicting – doing it once just doesn’t feel life enough!