If you’ve recently signed up for a writing workshop or writing class, in the hopes of becoming a better writer, then follow these simple steps to
make the most of that experience: 1) Read! Read! Read! Before the very first class or workshop, survey ALL the class materials
so you will get an idea of what to expect. Most good writing classes (and workshops) will provide students with a
wealth of helpful materials. But these materials won’t do you any good if
you don’t bother to look at them. In fact, if you have time before the
workshop starts, read as many of the materials as you can. You might
not fully understand what you are reading. That’s okay. Learning is
recursive – which means your understanding will increase each time
you study or reread the information. If you don’t have time to read the materials before the class begins, then
at least look over all the materials beforehand. Also, besides the
required course materials, if there are suggested additional materials,
get those too. And read them! Also, read the kinds of things you wish to write. If you want to write
stories for children, READ stories for children. If you want to write
culinary mysteries for adults, READ culinary mysteries for adults, etc. SPECIAL NOTE: Also, realize this. If you don’t enjoy reading, then you
probably won’t enjoy the work it takes to become a successful (by that I
mean, published) writer. Published writers are like sponges – anxious to
soak up any information about their craft that they can. 2) Carefully read the directions for each and every assignment and
follow the directions TO THE LETTER. I’m surprised that so many people pay for a writing course (like the one I
teach for the Institute of Children’s Literature), yet a large number of
these people don’t follow the directions for each assignment. In some
cases, it’s painfully evident that they didn’t even bother to READ the
directions. What they need to understand is this – usually each
assignment or lesson in a writing course or workshop was designed
with specific objectives in mind. If the student doesn’t bother to read and
follow the directions for each assignment, then the instructor has little
chance of helping the student meet those objectives. 3) Avoid defending your work to your instructor. Generally, students pay an instructor because he (or she) has some
expertise and experience in writing, which usually includes many
publishing credits. In fact, you should ALWAYS look for an instructor
who has publishing credits. But then listen to what that instructor has to
say about your writing, then follow his advice without trying to defend
your work if it goes against what he has suggested. Your instructor knows what he is talking about. For example, many times
I tell students that in stories for children, adults should play very minor
roles, and the child or teen in the story should always solve his own
problem without a parent or other well-meaning adult stepping in to
save the day. Many students want to argue that adults save the day for
kids all the time in real life, so it should be okay that Aunt Martha calling
at the last minute to offer little Janie the money she needs for summer
camp is the perfect resolution for their story. Sure, this kind of thing happens in real life. But, in stories for kids or
teens, editors want the child to solve his own problem. Don’t waste
precious time (yours or the instructor’s) arguing about something like
this. Your understanding of WHY you should do what your instructor is
asking you to do (or not do) will increase over time and study. Do what
your instructor suggests, without defending your reason for going
against his directions, and you’ll move ahead at a faster pace. 4) Learn to research all sorts of topics. In other words, don’t depend on
instructors, editors, publishers, or anyone else to provide you with ALL
the information you need in order to become a published writer. Your instructor will probably give you research tips and marketing
information, of course. But most published writers are self-directed
learners. By that I mean, when they don’t KNOW something, they figure
out HOW and WHERE to get the needed information themselves (more
about how to do this, next). 5) Find other writers to network with and even hang out with, and read
publications for writers. Join a local writers’ group or at least sign up for one online (at
www.yahoogroups.com you’ll find all sorts of groups for writers). Try to
find a group that includes at least a few published writers. Generally,
writers like to be helpful. They will usually share marketing tips, writing
resources, etc. and will help you to more fully understand what you learn
in a writing workshop or writing class. Also, talk to some of the other writers in these groups to find out how
they write. Then use some of their tips to improve your own writing,
writing habits, etc. Hang out with the published writers and you’ll soon
learn that they probably do a LOT of rewriting before they sell any of
their work. Read publications for writers to gain current marketing news and tips,
and to find out how other writers became successful. All these things will help give you the confidence to keep writing (and to
keep practicing what you learn in your writing workshop or writing
course) until you manage to get something published. 6) Don’t expect writing to be easy, and don’t assume that if it isn’t it must
mean you don’t have enough talent to succeed as a writer, so you might
as well drop out of the workshop or writing class. Actually, most successful writers will tell you that talent isn’t the most
important quality for success. The ability to follow directions (which will
eventually come from an editor or editors) and the willingness to
continue writing and rewriting, until at least some of the many rejection
letters you get in the mail turn into acceptance letters, are much more
important qualities for success as a writer. If you realize this BEFORE
you start any writing workshop or writing course, you will be more likely
to stick with it, even when the work gets difficult. These successful children’s writers offer additional tips: Cynthia Leitich Smith, award-winning author of JINGLE DANCER
(Morrow, 2000)(ages 4-up), RAIN IS NOT MY INDIAN NAME (Harper,
2001)(Listening Library, 2001)(ages 10-up), and INDIAN SHOES
(Harper, 2002)(ages 7-up), and other works, says: "Be brave. Participate. Put yourself out there. Don't defend or explain
away your work. Don't think of the other students as competition. And
don't worry if you're not ‘the star.’ Your focus should be on improving
your craft--period." Pat McCarthy, an Instructor with the Institute of Children’s Literature, and
author of 5 YA biographies and 5 nonfiction books for children suggests: "Don't write something different from what is assigned because you like
to do it your way. Do use the manuscript format - double spaced, etc." Susan Wright, another instructor for the Institute of Children’s Literature,
and author of the DEAD END ROAD MYSTERIES (for ages 10 & up)
advises: "Pay attention when others' work is being read and critiqued--it's not just
common courtesy, but we can often learn a lot from it. Resist the
temptation to go off on personal conversational tangents until after the
session. Workshop or class time is limited and valuable." L.D. Harkrader, author of 9 nonfiction books for children, and the middle
grade novel, AIRBALL: MY LIFE IN BRIEFS (released earlier this month
by Roaring Book Press) says: "When your instructor makes suggestions on how to improve your
stories, don't be afraid to revise, and don't trick yourself into thinking
revision is merely cosmetic work--a word or comma changed here or
there. Consider what your instructor has suggested, give your stories a
hard, honest look, then dig into your revision, ruthlessly cutting or
changing anything that doesn't work. Your stories deserve to be as
strong and as publishable as possible, and the only way you can
achieve that is to be brave and do the work." Okay. So now that you know how to make the most of that writing
workshop or writing class you just signed up for – go get ready for it. And
have a great time! See you in print! Suzanne Lieurance is a freelance writer and instructor for The Institute
of Children's Literature. She is the author of 12 books for children and
has written numerous articles and short stories for a variety of
magazines and other publications. She offers online workshops for
children's writers at http://www.suzannelieurance.com Lieurance is also owner of the Three Angels Gourmet Co. and offers
daily food tips at http://www.threeangelsgourmet.blogspot.com
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