Writing Workshops that Work For You

Believe me. I know how hard it is to be a writer - I am one myself. I've written for all sorts of forms and mediums. And one thing is for sure - as a writer, you are on your own. You don't have a company to work for. There's no "writing job fair" and no recruiters come through universities looking for the most recent batch of graduating writers. It's rough. But I think writing workshops can be a huge tool for writers in a number of ways. Writing workshops can improve your skills and craft, give you feedback and form a writing community.

Writing workshops are so plentiful, it's hard to know which to join and if it's worth the money and the time. I mean, Shakespeare wasn't in any writing workshops; how important or useful can they be? The answer isn't that simple. Frankly, there's a lot of writing workshops that might not be worth your time, but I might have a lot to learn in the same writing workshops. How is that possible? Writing isn't like law - you don't study and learn and pass a couple of standardized tests and get certified. There are no certified writers. As such, there is always more to learn and writing workshops could be the place to do it. Look at the instructors and what former students have said; would they take the writing workshops again? Did they get anything out of it? Follow your gut, and you'll see that some writing workshops aren't for you, and there are also a lot of writing workshops that are.

Writing is a lonely profession, and people that aren't in can't begin to understand what that is like. Writing workshops gives you a chance to meet others that do know all too much about it. Writing workshops often double as a club complete with libations, rumors and "shop talk". Being a part of writing workshops gives you access to people like you, that are trying to reach the same goals you are, and might have some experiences or information that can help you reach similar goals.

So whether you are just starting out, or whether you're a published author, you're never "too good" for writing workshops. You can always improve as a writer and it's important to remain part of the writing community. Writing workshops can help you with both of those things.