How to Lead a Creative Writing Workshop

For poets, playwrights, and fiction writers, a writing workshop is a place to improve their craft and help peers improve their technique as well. Through a process of sharing and critiquing, a writing workshop gives its members insights into what aspects of their narrative need work.

To successfully lead a writing workshop, you should have a clear set of goals and rules for operation, and create harmony among your writers.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Select your members judiciously, keeping in mind their personalities, skill, and genre. You can lead a writing workshop that consists of personal friends, or advertise openings to the general public. But however you scout for potential authors, you should screen applicants carefully to ensure that your meetings are productive. You could request a creative writing sample from prospective members.

2. Set an agenda for every meeting of the writing workshop. The goal could be to critique one author's piece, or to perform a writing exercise and discuss the results as a group. You can even hold a reading. Having a plan will ensure that your creative writing group is busy between meetings.

3. Organize critiques by distributing copies of one author's work, and then scheduling a class critique the next week (or next session depending on how frequently you meet). This can be done anonymously where the authors of each piece are known only to you, or it can be done openly.

4. Set the rules for critiquing pieces. You can go around the room and have everybody describe what they liked about the piece, and what didn't work. Or each member of the creative writing workshop can give written feedback to the author. All criticism should be constructive and precise. For example, "the point of view is inconsistent on pages 8-10" is a better critique than "the ending is bad."

5. Maintain order and a sense of security for your authors. Creative writers are naturally sensitive about their stories and poems, and the workshop environment should be welcoming and caring, not hostile. This can be achieved by having a small group.

6. Be open to suggestions from the writers in your workshop. Since the creative writing workshop is a collaboration for improvement, solicit ideas for writing activities and discussions.