Lauri Kubuitsile’s Ten Random Tips for Running a Writing Workshop
1. You can’t do everything, so don’t even try. Pick something. Examples of things to focus on might be show don’t tell, significant detail, characterisation, dialogue, tension, or plotting.
2. First read some examples of what you want to focus on – both good and bad examples if you can find them. Let the participants hear how good and bad writing sounds. Allow them to discuss the passages. Guide them to see what you want to show them with the passages.
3. Writing and sharing writing can be difficult for people. It is good to get people to open up and become comfortable with each other. I usually use a story ice-breaker. An example is dividing the group into three: A, B, and C. Have the As write two lines which are the beginning of a story. The B’s write two lines which are the middle, and the Cs write two lines that are the end of a story. Now you randomly pick an A, B, and a C and they read their lines one after another to make a story, often to hilarious effect.
4. A good characterisation exercise is to come with a form for them to fill in about a character. You can find such forms online or you can make your own. On the form should be things such as their character’s name, age, looks, political opinion, general mood, feeling on various things (ie. vegetarianism, religion, space travel, love at first sight, etc). The more detailed the better. Let them think about the character they want to create, then give them time to fill the form. Then give them a scene. I like to include something with tension or a moral quandary. Maybe they come upon a man beating up his wife or they just spotted the chief of the village stealing tomato sauce at the shop. Then you ask two participants to sit together and write a scene, only in dialogue, between the two characters they have created who have just come upon this situation. It helps build characterisation and dialogue skills. Have partners perform the scene in front of the class and discuss.
5. If you have a few sessions with the group, you might give them a short writing assignment that they bring finished to the next session. But again try to focus on a certain skill with the assignment.
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