On Workshops and Conferences
I've taught in a number of workshops, conferences, and MFA programs: Queen's College in NC, Lesley U. low-res MFA in MA, Stonecoast (U of Southern Maine), Solstice (Pine Manor College)also MA, and Writers in Paradise (Eckerd College) FL, among others, and have always been amazed and heartened by the passion for writing that so many people bring to those gatherings.
In the past year I've put together two of my own: a weeklong writers' conference in Orvieto, Italy (there is still one space left for the second installment, May 28-June3, 2020), and a one-day meditation/writing workshop held in Northampton, MA last week.
Like most teachers, I've always run these workshops with an emphasis on respect, and here's why: if someone had looked at my writing in, say, 1985, they would have given me little chance to ever publish a book, let alone the two dozen I have published. I always keep that in mind. People improve at different speeds, and you never know if someone whose work seems only fair, might produce something tremendous a few years down the road.
Beyond that, though, people often come to these workshops and conferences to have their passion for writing validated by the presence of like-minded souls. The last thing I would ever do would be to dissuade or disrespect them. Unlike, say, athletes or actors, writers don't attract hundreds of thousands of rabid fans. It's a quieter satisfaction, a subtler--but I would argue, more valuable--contribution to this world. So it's not a bad thing at all to spend a day or a week among others who value the written word. And it's appropriate for writers who lead these workshops to offer criticism and suggestion, but always with respect.
For me, as a teacher/facilitator of these discussions, the satisfaction lies in helping people gain the technical skills necessary to tell their stories, whether fact or fiction. Everyone has a story. Most people have many stories, and part of the reward of teaching is getting to hear them all, having a window into so many aspects of human life.
Sometimes difficult subjects come up--I've had people write about loss and addiction and abuse--but often we'll have humorous moments, too, and just about always there will be a kind of light in the room. It comes, I think, from the courage to share what you've experienced or created. When we write, we can't help but strip away some of the social protection that guards all of us in our day-to-day world. When we read, we connect to the writer at a level of intimacy that's also rare.
There are lots of good workshops out there. If that's the kind of community you enjoy, I hope you find one that's right for you, a teacher/facilitator/professional writer who is not only experienced and competent, but respectful and supportive as well...because it can be a very lonely business.
In the past year I've put together two of my own: a weeklong writers' conference in Orvieto, Italy (there is still one space left for the second installment, May 28-June3, 2020), and a one-day meditation/writing workshop held in Northampton, MA last week.
Like most teachers, I've always run these workshops with an emphasis on respect, and here's why: if someone had looked at my writing in, say, 1985, they would have given me little chance to ever publish a book, let alone the two dozen I have published. I always keep that in mind. People improve at different speeds, and you never know if someone whose work seems only fair, might produce something tremendous a few years down the road.
Beyond that, though, people often come to these workshops and conferences to have their passion for writing validated by the presence of like-minded souls. The last thing I would ever do would be to dissuade or disrespect them. Unlike, say, athletes or actors, writers don't attract hundreds of thousands of rabid fans. It's a quieter satisfaction, a subtler--but I would argue, more valuable--contribution to this world. So it's not a bad thing at all to spend a day or a week among others who value the written word. And it's appropriate for writers who lead these workshops to offer criticism and suggestion, but always with respect.
For me, as a teacher/facilitator of these discussions, the satisfaction lies in helping people gain the technical skills necessary to tell their stories, whether fact or fiction. Everyone has a story. Most people have many stories, and part of the reward of teaching is getting to hear them all, having a window into so many aspects of human life.
Sometimes difficult subjects come up--I've had people write about loss and addiction and abuse--but often we'll have humorous moments, too, and just about always there will be a kind of light in the room. It comes, I think, from the courage to share what you've experienced or created. When we write, we can't help but strip away some of the social protection that guards all of us in our day-to-day world. When we read, we connect to the writer at a level of intimacy that's also rare.
There are lots of good workshops out there. If that's the kind of community you enjoy, I hope you find one that's right for you, a teacher/facilitator/professional writer who is not only experienced and competent, but respectful and supportive as well...because it can be a very lonely business.
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