Online Workshops

MattJ · May 2, 2011

I'd thought I'd open up a thread for people who use online writer's workshops. I'm looking for a good one, and I'm currently trying a few out.

I've become a big fan of workshops. It allows you to not only get personalized feedback, but it sharpens your own critical abilities.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Critters (www.critters.org):

Huge site. It can be overwhelming at first.

Expectations: 1 critique per week. It takes about a month for your story to get critiques.

Number: I had 15 critiques for my first submission.

Quality: Variable. The critiques range from insightful, well-written reviews to barely literate summations.

Selling point: Lots of critiques.

Drawback: Random assortment + long wait

SFF Online Writer's Workshop(www.sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com) :

Pro site, requires minimal payment. First month free.

Expectations: Pay as you go. You get points for each critique you do.

Number: low. I submitted a few stories, never got more than 3 critiques.

Quality: Generally high. Some good writers there. Also have pro writers crits every so often.

Selling point: Professional looking site, easy to use, some good writers on there.

Drawback: Not much action.

Izz · May 7, 2011

Hmm--i haven't used any of those sites. I may use critters one day. I used to use the SYW forums here quite frequently and found them helpful. The trick (which is a necessary one for a writer to learn, i think) was learning what crit to take and what to ignore.

Dammit, i came into this thread to talk about an online workshop i'd heard about, but now i've completely forgotten what it was. Must be too early in the morning for my brain. I'll be back! Hopefully.

Lillie · May 9, 2011

I'd like to mention Critique Circle here.

http://www.critiquecircle.com/

I've used it and it was there that I heard about AW.
You earn points by critting and spend points to put your story up for crit.
You can pay to be a premium member or be a free member like me. I'm not really sure what the benefits of paying is. I'm happy with the free membership.

There are all genres being critted there, and all sorts of stories from flash to novels that get done chapter by chapter.

The writers (and therefore the crits) are at all levels from beginners to stuff that is really good.
I'm always happy when someone clever comes along and does a whole punctuation crit as 'the dot things' are not my strongest suit.

I've had a few things critted and I've got about 5 or 6 crits per piece, which is probably about average.

The whole site is password protected to preserve first rights.

Down side, after you are out of the newbie queue it can take a few weeks for your story to come up.

I've found it useful so I thought I'd mention it.

katsincommand · Oct 5, 2011

A point on OWW, if I may...

they offer a one month trial membership (free) and you can post one story without having done any critiques. it giives you a taste before you plunge in for the cost.

The downside of that is you get a lot of people who show up for a month, post stuff and wait for people to post without offering other crits first.

In a workshop like this where people are serious about their writing, they're not just on the site all day, they're out there writing. And there are a lot of them. If you want to get noticed, you have to start critiquing. It helps to participate on the thread too, though it's not required. Point is, people will take you seriously when you show you're interested.

Example: when I first signed up for the workshop, I did the newbie "post and wait". I'd get 2 - 3 crits within 2 weeks. Now, I post and start critiquing people. (Or, the better idea, I'm trying to crit on a normal basis, so people will return the favor when I need it). I'm getting minimum 3 now, I'm up to 5 or 6 on a story that's been up a few weeks.

areteus · Oct 5, 2011

I am a member of the Dreaming in Ink workshop: http://forums.dreaminginink.com/

It is a very small (kept deliberately that way by moderators only allowing a certain number of members to join) and very friendly group. Rules are quite simple:

A min of two crits (at least 250 words) posted each month (reminders are sent out and members are kicked out if no compliance).

First post is free but subsequent ones require you to have earned points (by critting). It costs 2 to post (a chapter, a short or 3 poems) and you earn 1 -3 points every crit you post (depending on what you crit - shorts are 1, novel chapters 2 and novel chapters you commit to critting the whole thing are worth 3).

No charges, just a committment to keep making those crits.

I've had a lot of good advice on there and as soon as there are places available next I will post a link here for those who may be interested.

DiannaG · Dec 5, 2011

Right now I'm on Novels-L, which is one of the lists of the Internet Writer's Workshop: http://www.internetwritingworkshop.org/index.shtml .

I like it better than Critique Circle because there's no waiting involved, you critique when you want to critique and you submit when you want to submit, and I like it better than Critters because the minimum participation is two per month, and the Critters one IIRC was one a week and too much for me. I've critiqued a couple of chapters and sent one in, and so far I really like Novels-L.

They have lots of other lists too, for all kinds of writers. I'm debating joining up for the short fiction one, but I'm not quite sure if I'm up to the extra workload yet.

Online Workshops

MattJ

Publish or Die Trying

Izz

Doing the Space Operatic

Lillie

practical experience, FTW

katsincommand

Writer, Not Quitter

areteus

DiannaG