Comments on: Article: Basic Training for Writers

By: Jake Kerr

Jake Kerr — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 04:09:59 +0000

I’m attending Viable Paradise starting on Sunday. It will be interesting for me, as I live in Dallas, and there’s an exceptional writing community there with a very organized critique program (The Writer’s Garret), so I’ve been regularly taking part in “live” critiques for over a year now. The ongoing nature of people critiquing your work for months compared to the intensive nature of being immersed with people critiquing your work very closely for one week will be very interesting to me.

I had no idea that Orson Scott Card had a writing workshop. I took part in a one session workshop with him at an SF convention in the late eighties, and he was fantastic.

I do believe that there are different paths to the same goal. I’m a product of an English department of a high caliber that has produced a number of excellent writers–from E.L. Doctorow to Laura Hillenbrand–but the program is just that: English Literature. Still, the process of studying the basics of what makes great writers great really has an impact on how you can use that yourself as a writer. At least it has for me. For others, and MFA from the Iowa Writer’s workshop may be the path, as it was for Justin Cronin and others. Still, others may find Clarion as their path, as you outline above. Ultimately, the path really comes down to the individual. You need to write, and you need quality feedback. Where that feedback is probably less important than the individual being open to it.

By: John Joseph Adams

John Joseph Adams — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 02:27:24 +0000

Omar, I would venture to say that you’d learn more about writing from Clarion than you did in your entire bachelor’s degree program. (No offense to your writing program, I’d say that’s true of any writing program, based on the quantum leaps I’ve seen some Clarion graduates make after attending.)

I’d say, if you want to teach, get a masters; if you want to write, go to Clarion. (Or one of the others.)

By: Omar

Omar — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 23:39:58 +0000

Is it the guidance of these specialised published genre writers that you propose as being so helpful, or is it the usefulness of workshops themselves? I’ve recently completed a writing degree at the University of Technology, Sydney, which included a stint at the University of East Anglia, UK, and which in large part consisted of workshopping. I did that for three years. Now, granted the lecturers weren’t published genre writers (although most of them were published to some degree, were editors, etc) and granted, it was usually one workshop per semester and I had other unrelated classes and assignments, but I didn’t find it to be revolutionary. I think the workshop process is incredibly beneficial, don’t mistake me, I’m just wondering if any of these particular “boot camps” would be helpful to me?

For the money being asked for, I might as well go the extra distance and just get a Masters, no?

By: John Joseph Adams » Guest Lecturer at the Odyssey Workshop 2011

John Joseph Adams » Guest Lecturer at the Odyssey Workshop 2011 — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 15:57:14 +0000

[...] Here’s a little bit about the workshop, from my article “Basic Training for Writers“: [...]

By: Cat Rambo

Cat Rambo — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:20:22 +0000

Very useful information for people contemplating the workshop experience — thank you for posting this.

By: Bob Petrie

Bob Petrie — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:08:48 +0000

This writing thing seems like a lot of hard work.

I’ve never written before but was hoping, and expecting, that one day I’d carve out a weekend and just bang out a hit novel. Is that not going to happen?

If not, I thank God there are people that are willing to put in the work.

By: David Booker

David Booker — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:35:02 +0000

Thank you for the information you provide on this site. You should promote it in your rejection letters. I will pass the site along to members of a writing group I facilitate. I do wish there was a week-long program closer to where I live. Requirements of job and life make it harder for me to spend even a week away, but might be able to if it were closer to Tennessee. Also, I thought there was a week-long program at the University of Kansas, started by James Gunn, I believe. Do you have any information on that. Again, thanks.

By: John Joseph Adams » Blog Archive » Basic Training for Writers, 2008 edition

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:55:15 +0000

[...] a note to point out that I’ve updated by article Basic Training for Writers, which is an overview of all the various SF/Fantasy writing workshops (Clarion, etc.). It’s [...]

By: John Joseph Adams » Blog Archive » Article: Speculative Fiction: The Next Generation

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 14:02:56 +0000

[...] their guidelines. I read dozens of books on writing. I took writing classes in college. I attended writers workshops, such as Clarion. I wrote and submitted regularly, and collected dozens of rejections, and [...]