How to Join a Free Writing Workshop
Improve and polish your writing by joining a writing workshop. There, you can submit and share your creative ditties, fiction and non-fiction with others for critique and advice.For the unpublished, or writers who have confidence issues, workshops can help. It’s easy to find a local writing workshop at a bookstore, library or college open to writers of all levels. There’s also an abundance of free online writing workshops to join.
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Instructions
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Check your local library or call your local independent or chain bookstore, like Barnes and Noble Booksellers. Chain bookstores often host free, weekly writing groups. Also check local colleges for scheduled workshops. Make a list of your findings, and get the contact information for the leader or adviser of each workshop.
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Be on the lookout for genre- or level-specific workshops. Join a workshop that is a good match for your level and style of writing. For instance, don't join a workshop for published writers if you've never been published. You might get some great tips, but your confidence might get a bit bruised. Instead, pick a workshop with members who are of the same skill level as you. This way, you'll get nurtured, not left in the dust.If you're a poet, romance, screenplay or science fiction writer, join a workshop for your special genre. Here, you'll meet others with the same interests who have experience writing on a certain topic. Go were you know you'll be supported.
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Join a workshop for the interesting people you'll meet. Since many workshops are open and free, you'll never know what characters you'll meet. The beauty is that you'll get many different perspectives on the writing you share. For example, someone in the group might be fantastic at grammar, and another at developing your writing voice.If you want to be part of a workshop for specific types of writers, check the nearest city. New York City, for example, is teeming with free writing workshops. These groups often post ads on message boards looking for "serious" writers who have to have certain criteria to join. This is great if you want to cut the nonsense and personal talk down, and focus more on writing.
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Join a free Internet writing workshop. These are great resources for writers, and have perks that in-person writing groups don't, such as hundreds of members willing to critique your work.Sign up for The Internet Writing Workshop (see Resources below). Here, you can post your writing for critique and read and review other members' writing. Posting and critiquing is done via email. Post your work in nine different categories including poetry, fiction and script writing. In order to keep your membership, you must participate by submitting and reviewing work continuously.Critters Writers Workshop (see Resources below) is free and open to science fiction, horror and fantasy writers only. The group has been operating since 1995 and has more than 10,000 members.
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Tips & Warnings
Besides writing advice and critiques, workshops are good places to start discussions about publishing, marketing and the business side of writing. Many of the online workshops have discussion forums on these topics.
Expect criticism. The main point of a writing workshop is to improve your skills. So, if you're sensitive or take critique personally, you'll have to get over it if you plan to join. Of course, praise is dished out too, but don't expect it.
