So here you see our hail and farewell photo of the writers in the workshop I co-led with Marsha Qualey at the Hamline 2012 Winter Residency. Over six days we responded to nine fiction WIP's with designer homework on the final day to send the writers out into the blizzard with revision juices flowing. Marsha and I called it our fiction intensive, each taking our occasional turn at the board to plot out scenes and chapters. Participants were all so sensitive and precise in their feedback that I believe all the writers were grateful for the careful readings. I was honored to share these stories and listen to the excellent feedback that went beyond each day's stories.
That's what we all yearn for, isn't it? A careful reading of our work that focuses on the text on the page, but also examines it in the broader scope of literature. Story structure and POV were most often discussed. We had excellent talks throughout the residency on POV in all its complexities and this deepened our responses too.
Write on through the winter. It's been a pleasure to blog this past semester and I hope to be back. Claire
Yes, a careful reading of the work is such a gift! And your voice on the blog has been a gift too.
ReplyDeleteThis past workshop was extremely helpful. You two balanced each other out. You all offered constructive feedback, provided examples on how to improve the work and found the strengths of each piece. It was a Mary Poppins experience-- "Just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down..."
ReplyDeleteAlicia