Help me host a women's writer's workshop
March 1, 2015 11:48 AM Subscribe
I'd like to host a half-day/day-long writing workshop for some really cool, feminist women that I know. What tips do you have for hosting a workshop--e.g. how to make people feel safe and supported, how to make the experience worthwhile, how to structure the day, etc.?
I'm a little shy and a little inexperienced as a writer (took a few writing classes in college but have done nothing since), and this will be my first time hosting a writing workshop. What tips do you have for hosting a workshop--e.g. how to make people feel safe and supported, how to make the experience worthwhile, how to structure the day, etc.? This is going to be a workshop for women, and I'm interested in making it inclusive, supportive, and to give people a space to explore their voices and ideas and how to express them in a way that is accessible to others. I've been in a writing rut and I think it'd help to have an audience and people to help me improve my work. This is not an ADVANCED writers' workshop, but I don't know that it is totally beginning either--somewhere in-between. The people invited will be friends of mine and of my co-host.
My idea for how to structure it so far is this
**Yoga led by an awesome friend
**Random word writing prompts--this is just to get creative juices flowing, everyone writes for 10 minutes based on a randomly generated word, then shares in a circle what they wrote; people can ask questions but it isn't about critiquing anything
**Lunch
**Peer review--people can bring in two pages of work, and then everyone peer reviews in a traditional beginners' peer review format e.g. 3 positives / 3 negatives
For the afternoon portion, I thought it could be nice to provide some prompts / topic ideas in case people don't have any pre-prepared work of their own to bring in. I'd love to hear more about people's experiences as women and ideas about feminism because that's a topic I'm especially interested in right now...but don't know if that's a sexist, boring, limiting idea or how best to phrase that. The #1 goal is for people to have a nice time, feel connected, and get to share their stories/voices. Anyway, I would love some input. Right now, we are planning to host it in my friend's backyard. Thanks!
I'm a little shy and a little inexperienced as a writer (took a few writing classes in college but have done nothing since), and this will be my first time hosting a writing workshop. What tips do you have for hosting a workshop--e.g. how to make people feel safe and supported, how to make the experience worthwhile, how to structure the day, etc.? This is going to be a workshop for women, and I'm interested in making it inclusive, supportive, and to give people a space to explore their voices and ideas and how to express them in a way that is accessible to others. I've been in a writing rut and I think it'd help to have an audience and people to help me improve my work. This is not an ADVANCED writers' workshop, but I don't know that it is totally beginning either--somewhere in-between. The people invited will be friends of mine and of my co-host.
My idea for how to structure it so far is this
**Yoga led by an awesome friend
**Random word writing prompts--this is just to get creative juices flowing, everyone writes for 10 minutes based on a randomly generated word, then shares in a circle what they wrote; people can ask questions but it isn't about critiquing anything
**Lunch
**Peer review--people can bring in two pages of work, and then everyone peer reviews in a traditional beginners' peer review format e.g. 3 positives / 3 negatives
For the afternoon portion, I thought it could be nice to provide some prompts / topic ideas in case people don't have any pre-prepared work of their own to bring in. I'd love to hear more about people's experiences as women and ideas about feminism because that's a topic I'm especially interested in right now...but don't know if that's a sexist, boring, limiting idea or how best to phrase that. The #1 goal is for people to have a nice time, feel connected, and get to share their stories/voices. Anyway, I would love some input. Right now, we are planning to host it in my friend's backyard. Thanks!
I'm not sure if this will be helpful, because, while I've had a couple of decades experience putting on conferences for women, they are businesswomen, not artists, and they pay $300+ to attend, so expectations are high.
That said, some thoughts:
- Figure out your value proposition: in return for attendance, what will you give your conference-goers that matters to them, preferably that they can't get anywhere else? (In my world, holding an audience hostage while random folks "share" would go over like a lead balloon, though that may be different in the arts. Which is to say, it's valuable to the person sharing, but what about the rest? What are they getting out of it? Yes, a group of women will tend to be more supportive than a group of men, but only up to a point.)
- Whether it's 30 women or 400, there is an incredible energy women bring to events. You don't want to harness that energy, you want gently to direct it, with just enough structure to facilitate quality individual interaction. The sharing that's valuable is when connections, whether temporary or lasting, can be made at the same time, such as tables (of 8-10) being given a problem to solve that's related to the topic. So this is good: everyone writes for 10 minutes based on a randomly generated word, then shares in a circle what they wrote, provided it doesn't last longer than 15 minutes max. Anything longer is a chore and boring. In fact, you might even want to consider having pairs/trios working on the feedback portion, to speed things along.
- There's no one magic formula that works with everyone. So your job is to provide a variety of opportunities for attendees to benefit from being there. It's a cliché because it's true: it only takes one actionable idea and one meaningful connection for most people to love having attended a conference. You want to aim higher, of course, but people are incredibly generous if you can--again--give them something they value that they can't get anywhere else.
- Twenty years ago, our average session lasted 90 minutes to two hours. Today, folks won't sit still for that long. They want the nuggets without listening to filler. Again, in my world, speakers already know this, but sometimes we need to work with them to pare down the non-essential.
- You should, if you can, feature a successful practitioner, perhaps as a keynote at lunch. This has less to do with proverbial role models than it does with answering the question, "How can I be successful too?"
- While I hesitate to say this, "market speak" does matter, at least for my folks. For example, if you're having breakouts--and you should, to allow folks to follow their interests--"30-minute deep dive into [specific topic X] gets better attendance than "Essentials of Professionalism" (or whatever).
Hope this helps, and best wishes to you!
posted by Short Attention Sp at 4:34 PM on March 1, 2015
That said, some thoughts:
- Figure out your value proposition: in return for attendance, what will you give your conference-goers that matters to them, preferably that they can't get anywhere else? (In my world, holding an audience hostage while random folks "share" would go over like a lead balloon, though that may be different in the arts. Which is to say, it's valuable to the person sharing, but what about the rest? What are they getting out of it? Yes, a group of women will tend to be more supportive than a group of men, but only up to a point.)
- Whether it's 30 women or 400, there is an incredible energy women bring to events. You don't want to harness that energy, you want gently to direct it, with just enough structure to facilitate quality individual interaction. The sharing that's valuable is when connections, whether temporary or lasting, can be made at the same time, such as tables (of 8-10) being given a problem to solve that's related to the topic. So this is good: everyone writes for 10 minutes based on a randomly generated word, then shares in a circle what they wrote, provided it doesn't last longer than 15 minutes max. Anything longer is a chore and boring. In fact, you might even want to consider having pairs/trios working on the feedback portion, to speed things along.
- There's no one magic formula that works with everyone. So your job is to provide a variety of opportunities for attendees to benefit from being there. It's a cliché because it's true: it only takes one actionable idea and one meaningful connection for most people to love having attended a conference. You want to aim higher, of course, but people are incredibly generous if you can--again--give them something they value that they can't get anywhere else.
- Twenty years ago, our average session lasted 90 minutes to two hours. Today, folks won't sit still for that long. They want the nuggets without listening to filler. Again, in my world, speakers already know this, but sometimes we need to work with them to pare down the non-essential.
- You should, if you can, feature a successful practitioner, perhaps as a keynote at lunch. This has less to do with proverbial role models than it does with answering the question, "How can I be successful too?"
- While I hesitate to say this, "market speak" does matter, at least for my folks. For example, if you're having breakouts--and you should, to allow folks to follow their interests--"30-minute deep dive into [specific topic X] gets better attendance than "Essentials of Professionalism" (or whatever).
Hope this helps, and best wishes to you!
posted by Short Attention Sp at 4:34 PM on March 1, 2015
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Before the workshop
- Think about what you would like people to bring. Are laptops okay or will it be distracting? Will you workshop drafts together or is this a space for generating new ideas? Do you want to unify everyone around a specifically feminist theme, or will you expand into being generally pro-woman or pro-women's writing? It's okay to open things up more on the day if you feel the topic is a bit stifling, but start everyone off with a common understanding.
- Ensure you have both indoor and outdoor space in case of dire weather. Consider where you will seat people - will you arrange the space in advance or just let everyone find their spot for the day? Do you have enough (comfortable) chairs and (potentially) table space? Arrange drinks, snacks, meals - check for dietary requirements.
- Timetable. I recommend grabbing a piece of paper, dividing it into hour-long slots and mapping out meals and breaks first. Then you can think about the rest of the day. My gut feeling is: an hour for warm-up activities (the yoga, maybe!), people introducing their own work, maybe writing 50 to 100 word pieces from a prompt, then a break, then a longer work session before lunch. After lunch, build upon that work session, then have a debrief with tea/coffee and snacks at the end of the day.
- Circulate the above information, and consider writing a short statement or manifesto for the day. Talk about the goals, the tone you're setting, what behaviours will be unacceptable, how discussion will be moderated (if at all). I think in a small friendship group these things seem unimportant, but setting out expectations in advance really helps people get into the right mindset.
During the workshop
- Moderate discussion or guide people as necessary. If you're the host, you call the shots. That doesn't mean riding roughshod over people, but time-keeping, making sure everyone has a chance to speak, and always making sure you have a personal comment or reflection on a piece of work are the three vital skills. Nothing worse than watching someone give a talk or present a piece at a workshop and have nobody engage with it. You pick up that slack if necessary.
- Be the interpreter. If you feel that someone is struggling to connect or get their voice across, help draw out their meaning. I would add to this that if you have specified a theme for the workshop, it's okay to encourage someone going off-topic to refocus on the workshop theme.
After the workshop
- Reconnect with people, thank them for participation, provide some kind of closure on the day.
- Connect people to one another if they're not already friends.
- Consider asking people to submit a short piece to make a chapbook or a little booklet. Distribute this to all the participants - make it a tangible sign of what you achieved together.
Hope this is helpful!
posted by averysmallcat at 3:06 PM on March 1, 2015 [2 favorites]