Some Notes on Workshop Criticism - Bruce Holland Rogers

Bruce Holland Rogers offers the following suggestions when it comes to giving and receiving eachother feedback.

For the writer, what to bring:

1. The story or poem that you submit for criticism should be "finished" work. Ideally, you are showing the group a piece that you would send to an editor to be considered for publication. This means no rough drafts! Write, re-read, and revise your work, then bring it to workshop. If there are problems with the manuscript that you already know how to address, then it's a waste of the group's time to point them out to you.

2. However, you may feel that your poem or story is "broken" in some way, and does not yet deliver the experience that you want the reader to have. Such a work is suitable for workshop discussion as long as the manuscript is as complete and as finished as you are so far able to make it.

3. For the sake of uniform presentation, please submit your work in manuscript format, just as you would send it to an editor.

For the readers, what to say:

0. Before you say anything at all, write notes about the work on the manuscript so that you can refer to your notes and can also give the manuscript, with notes, back to the writer after the discussion concludes.

1. Your first job as a member of the workshop is to "test drive" the story and offer your experience as a reader to the writer. What do you think the story or poem is trying to accomplish? Were there places where you had to stop and re-read? Did the work contradict itself in a way that you imagine was not the author's intention? In short, articulate your experience as a reader, showing the writer where the writing did or did not function as the writer probably intended.

2. Once you have shared your experience as a reader, you may make suggestions to the writer about how the manuscript might be changed to be more effective. Keep in mind always that you may be wrong in your assessment of what the writer is trying to accomplish, so don't imagine that your suggestions are necessarily the things that the writer should or will do. You are making provisional recommendations.

3. If you are able to explain an underlying principle of how storytelling works or how the sound of words will affect the reader's emotions, do offer those insights in support of your recommendation for a specific change. (With experience, you will be able to offer such explanations more often.)

4. It can be difficult at first, but try not to address the author. Sometimes it even helps to look at ?someone other than the author when you speak about the manuscript. Phrase your comments so that it is clear that you are speaking about the qualities of the work, not the qualities of the writer. Some workshop members go so far as to say "the writer" whenever they might otherwise mention the author's name or refer to that person directly.

5. In the same vein, keep the focus only on this work, not on other writing that the group has seen. Don't rank the works you are discussing. Don't say, "This is the best poem we have seen tonight!" Don't compare the work to other work from the same writer, saying that this story is better or worse. The issue is not where this work ranks, but whether or not it succeeds on its own terms.

6. Be sure to point out what you enjoyed and thought was effective. Praise whatever is praiseworthy!

For the writer, how to listen:

1. You will get notes back on the manuscripts, but don't rely on these. Write down what you are hearing as it is said. Sometimes readers will offer very helpful insights that just occurred to them, things they didn't write down. Also, writing notes as you listen demonstrates to the readers that you are paying attention to them, that you value their efforts.

2. Try to listen dispassionately. Some feelings of disappointment are inevitable. You have shared the work of your heart, and these people seem to be finding imperfections in it. It is fine and natural to feel badly. You are free to feel what you feel, of course, but try not to dwell upon your disappointment. If you are too busy emoting, you may miss a tremendously helpful observation or suggestion.

3. Depending on the format of your workshop, you probably will not be allowed to speak until all the readers have finished speaking. There are very good reasons for this rule as what you say can keep readers from sharing information that you really should have. Since you can't speak, make notes about comments that you didn't understand and will want to clarify.

4. When you are done listening, when the criticism has finished, it is good form to say "Thank you." Offering earnest criticism is hard work.

For the writer, what to do next:

1. Go home and have a good cry. Well, with any luck it will be a rare workshop that really makes you want to cry. But emotions are part of the experience. All writers approach a workshop hoping for nothing but praise and adoration, and even long-time professional writers who use workshops seldom have that imagined literary coronation. Whatever your emotions are, let them settle. Wait a day before doing anything with your notes.

2. Look over your notes. You will probably find lots of contradiction. The first thing to be alert to is material that you know is right --- observations of problems that you agree with, suggested changes that excite you. Begin a revision list of things that you do intend to change accordingly.

3. Beyond the observations or advice that feel right to you, are there things that many people agreed on? Literature is not a democracy, and the majority does not rule your writing. But give careful consideration to things that many people agreed on.

4. Remember that there are at least three possible responses to a suggestion. One is to adopt it. Another is to ignore it. The third, and sometimes most interesting option, is to do the exact opposite of what was suggested. Andre Gide advised young writers to discover what others despised in their work and then cultivate it as their own special gift. A writer might abuse that advice, but often criticism points to an opportunity but is exactly wrong about how best to exploit that opportunity. Be as creative in interpreting and using criticism as you were in imagining your work in the first place.