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Internet Writing
Workshops- 27 April 1999 Written for CBC Ottawa's Radio Show, CBO Morning Back in 1992,
I decided to do something constructive with my daydreams, and
so I started romance writing. I outlined a novel called A Rose
By Any Other Name and promptly threw together three chapters featuring
a thinly disguised version of myself as the heroine, who winds
up in a battle of wits with a tall, handsome and intriguing Jazz
pianist. (Sigh! Why don’t these guys exist in real life?) Then,
alas, my exams came up, and I ever-so-conveniently forgot about
my desire to be the next Danielle Steel. The main premise of the Internet Writing Workshop is to give writers a chance to share their works in progress and also support each other. Writing can be a lonely, isolating experience, and it really helps to know that there are other people out there, banging their heads on the keyboards as well. It’s also great to know people who work within your specific genre. I’ve been part of face-to-face writing groups before, and they’re good as well, but the nice thing about Lovestory is that everyone there writes romance, and, in fact, a number of participants also write for my specific subgenre-romantic comedy targeted at Harlequin’s “Love and Laughter” line. Participation is mandatory in the Internet Writing Workshop, and this is a good thing. Each individual list has its own participation requirements, but you are generally expected to make at least one submission a month. This requirement actually works to my personal advantage- the external motivation of a monthly deadline means that I’ve had to become more organized about finding the time and the energy for writing. And when you’re a lazy girl who would rather spend all her free moments on the couch reading novels, this really helps. I don’t know the specific details of all the mailing lists, but I’ll tell you how Lovestory works. There are generally about thirty members participating at any given time, and we are expected to make at least one submission and do two critiques per month. A submission can be just about anything--- a query letter, a short story, a plot synopsis, or a chapter of a novel. To make a submission, all you have to do is send your chapter (or whatever) as an e-mail message to the entire group, using “SUB” as the subject line heading. When the group gets your submission, members can choose to critique it. To critique a submission, you reply to the entire group using “CRIT” as the subject line heading, and include some of the text of the submission that you are critiquing. Generally, when I do a crit, I will first write a paragraph about my general perceptions of the piece, and what I did and didn’t like. The rest of the message will be my line-edit of the submission, pointing out specific areas in the text that need polishing. It’s fun to get the submissions as well. Most of the subs on Lovestory are chapters of novels that people are working on, and you get involved with the characters and the story, and wind up eagerly awaiting your monthly update. And, I’ve found that a majority of the submissions that I receive are well-written and professional, just in need of a little bit of polishing. The great thing about this system is that when you make a submission, you are just about guaranteed to get at least three crits back. The crits are, for the most part, very constructive and useful --- I can’t tell you how many times a “critter” has picked up my grammar mistakes, or been able to pinpoint the solution to the problem I was having with character motivation. (I sometimes have problems writing my male lead, thanks to my general misunderstanding of the male species!) The other good thing about the crits that you get from the Internet Writing Workshop is that they tend to be unbiased. Submitting a piece over a mailing list is much different from getting your mother to read your latest literary attempt-Mom’s going to think it’s great no matter what. But the mailing list has a nice feeling of distance- and chances are your writing workshop colleagues will be able to find the glitches that your friends and family overlook. In fact, the criticism that I get from the mailing list is very constructive, and it really prepares me for what a “real editor” might make of my work. In addition to sharing critiques and submissions, the Internet Writing Workshop mailing lists are also a good source of market information and advice. If you have a question about a specific publishing company, or need writing tips, posting to the list with your queries really helps. My colleagues on the lovestory list quite often talk about the latest writing and romance writing sites on the internet, and through them, I’ve managed to find a number of great resources. Plus, your friends on the writing workshop really help you out. We’ve all been through periods of what I call “writers doubt”, and it makes a difference to have a community out there, who is waiting for your next submission, and truly interesting in what you’re writing. At any rate, I must say that there is a good chance that “A Rose By Any Other Name” might still be filed away in a desk drawer someplace if it wasn’t for the Internet Writing Workshop. Instead, I’m halfway through chapter eight, and for a notorious procrastinator like me, that’s progress. However, there is that little matter of getting the main characters to live happily ever after… for more information: General Information
on the Internet Writing Workshop: Inkspot,
a great site for writers’ information on the web: A great starting
point for romance writing and reading, Romantic Times Magazine: |
