A structured group session where writers share their work and receive focused critique from fellow writers.
A writing workshop is a group setting where writers submit their work, read each other's submissions, and provide structured feedback. The format varies, but the classic model has the author stay silent while the group discusses the piece, then respond afterward. Workshops can be part of an academic program, a local writing community, or an online group. The goal is to expose your work to multiple informed readers and learn from both giving and receiving critique.
Workshops force you to do two things that make you a better writer: share unfinished work before you're ready, and read other people's work with a critical eye. The first builds resilience and reveals your blind spots. The second trains you to diagnose story problems, a skill you then apply to your own drafts.
Founded in 1936, it's the oldest and most prestigious graduate creative writing program in the United States. Alumni include Flannery O'Connor, Kurt Vonnegut, and Marilynne Robinson.
An intensive six-week science fiction and fantasy workshop that has shaped careers since 1968. Graduates include Octavia Butler, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Kelly Link.
Started in 1956 in Milford, Pennsylvania, this workshop pioneered the format where the author stays silent during discussion. Its method became the template for modern writing workshops worldwide.
A summer workshop that ran alongside the literary magazine, known for pairing emerging writers with established mentors and fostering a strong alumni community.
Organize a mini-workshop with two or three writer friends. Each person submits 1,000 words. Everyone reads all submissions beforehand and writes three specific notes per piece: one thing that works, one thing that's unclear, and one question they want answered. Meet for an hour and discuss each piece for 15-20 minutes, with the author listening silently first.