Thread: The Writer's Workshop Writing Academy

LESSON INDEX

Lesson One: Description and World Building (June '12)
Lesson Two: Creating Fantastic Pokeworlds (July '12)
Lesson Three: Character Development (September '12)
Lesson Four: Writing Under Pressure (October '12)
Lesson Five: Getting Started (November '12)
Lesson Six: Christmas (December '12)
Lesson Seven: Writing Reviews (February '13)
Lesson Eight: Punctuation (March '13)


Hello everyone!

With another awards season in the books, it's finally time to begin our next big on-going event here at the Workshop!

Again, it is so awesome to see the growth that this place has undergone since I joined more than 3 years ago. The talent level and commitment of the authors we have is truly astounding, and we have clearly (in my eyes) established ourselves as the top collection of authors anywhere in the fandom.

That being said, there is always room for improvement. Whether you are a beginner or a multi-award winner, every writer can improve in one way or another, and thus, our (old) new project...

I'd like to formally invite you all to participate in the WW Writing Academy!


What is the 'Writer's Workshop Writing Academy?'


Well, for those who don't remember back when I had tried (and failed) to start the previous academy, it is basically an opportunity for all authors here to improve through discussion of certain topics pertaining to writing. Back then, it was essentially just me posting threads with advice and excerps from articles I had read.

This time around, the new and improved Writer's Workshop Writing Academy will be a group effort... It will essentially be a discussion-based class that will delve into the different areas of writing in hopes that all of our writers can learn a thing or two about areas in which they are not as strong as others.

@Gastly's Mama; @Caitlin; @LightningTopaz; @AceTrainer14; @Soulmaster and @harryheart will be your friendly neighbourhood "professors" and will lead the lessons and moderate the discussions in order to keep them moving in a beneficial and interesting manner.

It will be up to all you authors to actively participate as well however, as this will be more discussion based amongst us all rather than lecturing by us mods.

Above all, the Writing Academy will be a golden opportunity for us to work together as a community of friends in order to help each other learn and improve... not only as fic authors but as writers in real everyday life!


What Sort of Topics Will Be Covered?

Topics will vary, and suggestions can be made in the form of VM/PM to any of the mods if you have a subject that you feel needs special attention.

Some topics covered will be:

Description and World Building
Creating Deep and Interesting Characters
Grammar and Addressing Common Technical Mistakes
Controlling Pace of Plot
etc.

Each month, a new lesson will begin. A month may seem like a long time to spend on one topic, but remember the goal is to really improve ourselves as writers, and that kind of commitment cannot be completed overnight. The month will give everyone ample opportunity to focus on the lesson, have a good, long and meaningful discussion about it, and also will give everyone time to study what theyve learned and hopefully implement it into their own writing.


Okay, Sounds Good, But How Exactly Will the Academy Work?

Like I said, a new lesson will be started every month.

Each lesson will be its own thread in the Writer's Block, and will have the "Academy" prefix for easy identification. An index with links to each lesson thread will be held here for easy reviewing.

One or several of the staff members will start the lesson off with some opening remarks about the topic at hand. As "professors" they will start the conversation/discussion off and then it is up to everyone else to ask questions, offer opinions, provide examples from their own works/other works, give feedback, etc.

Again, while the mods will guide the discussion and act as teachers in a sense to make sure things run in a smooth and helpful direction, the lessons can really only be as good and helpful as we all make them through our participation and discussion.

Remember, our collective goal is to help each other get better as writers. If you are particularly strong in the area being discussed, OFFER YOUR OPINION/EXPERTISE! If you feel you are not strong in that area, ASK QUESTIONS!

Also, we encourage using examples from actual fics/books/articles/etc to support your points and opinions.


Awesome! When Do We Start?

Lesson 1 will be posted in the Writer's Block by tonight or tomorrow night. The discussion can begin immediately.

...

Again, let me say one more time that I love this place and love all of you. We all share a very special common bond: our passion for writing and Pokemon.

I see you all as my closest friends on Bulbagarden and I think this can be an awesome project!

How cool would it be to really work hard together and not only help each other's fics become better quality, but also to help each other become better writers overall in real life!

Better grades in school! Better grades on papers and real life writing assignments! Who knows? Someday a bunch of you might go on to become professional and famous authors! How cool would it be to look back at your time at the Workshop and remember all the comrodery and friendship we have here?

Now come on! Let's do this!

Feel free to ask general questions about the Academy here. Any topical questions about specific lessons or areas of writing should go in the lesson/discussion threads as they occur.

Thanks everyone!


Love,

Legacy and the rest of the WW Staff

I could not approve more of this, and I look forward to participating with the utmost enthusiasm. The experience shall be nothing short of exquisite~
Hmm. Would it be acceptable for me to take it upon myself to collate, coalesce, conglomerate the useful information into cohesive, coherent, articles? (Once the corresponding thread inevitably peters out.)

Originally Posted by Legacy

Some topics covered will be: [...] Grammar [...]

[...] remember all the comrodery [...]

*chuckle*

Originally Posted by unrepentantAuthor

I could not approve more of this, and I look forward to participating with the utmost enthusiasm. The experience shall be nothing short of exquisite~
Hmm. Would it be acceptable for me to take it upon myself to collate, coalesce, conglomerate the useful information into cohesive, coherent, articles? (Once the corresponding thread inevitably peters out.)

Originally Posted by Legacy

Some topics covered will be: [...] Grammar [...]

[...] remember all the comrodery [...]

*chuckle*

Haha cut me some slack! I wrote that entire post on my phone.

And yes, we'd love you to grace us with your organizational skills. Thank you.

If you are particularly strong in the area being discussed, OFFER YOUR OPINION/EXPERTISE! If you feel you are not strong in that area, ASK QUESTIONS!

Actually, I would like to state that if you are particularly strong in an area, your questions might be just as important. You will have a different basis, and different grounds for asking questions, leading to different questions which can result in equally helpful ruminations on the subject. Also, if you are well-versed you know what kind of questions are good to ask, to get people to reflect better on the subject. Give a man an answer and he'll think for a day, teach a man to reason and he'll think for a lifetime and all that. If those who are skilled (in addition to the professors) ask questions instead of giving straight-out answers (or any figurative equivalents to questions and answers that seem appropriate to apply to a discussion), it might be just as helpful, as people think and reflect more around a question than an answer ;P

Naturally they could (and should) share their abundant knowledge, but they might just wait a little. As a longstanding moderator of and active participant in several philosophical and political forums, I've come to see that as the best basis for discussions where the sharing of knowledge and fostering of reflection are key elements. Basically, encourage wondering about the topic. I would thus also recommend everyone looking for knowledge or insight to reflect on questions before reading other people's answers. Then read the answers, and reflect over it one more time with both your previous reflection and any newfound knowledge and insight from other people in mind. Then share what you find.

'tis but my opinion, though, people may go ahead as they wish :P

Am strongly looking forward to this initiative!

Originally Posted by Llama_Guy

If you are particularly strong in the area being discussed, OFFER YOUR OPINION/EXPERTISE! If you feel you are not strong in that area, ASK QUESTIONS!

Actually, I would like to state that if you are particularly strong in an area, your questions might be just as important. You will have a different basis, and different grounds for asking questions, leading to different questions which can result in equally helpful ruminations on the subject. Also, if you are well-versed you know what kind of questions are good to ask, to get people to reflect better on the subject. Give a man an answer and he'll think for a day, teach a man to reason and he'll think for a lifetime and all that. If those who are skilled (in addition to the professors) ask questions instead of giving straight-out answers (or any figurative equivalents to questions and answers that seem appropriate to apply to a discussion), it might be just as helpful, as people think and reflect more around a question than an answer ;P

Naturally they could (and should) share their abundant knowledge, but they might just wait a little. As a longstanding moderator of and active participant in several philosophical and political forums, I've come to see that as the best basis for discussions where the sharing of knowledge and fostering of reflection are key elements. Basically, encourage wondering about the topic. I would thus also recommend everyone looking for knowledge or insight to reflect on questions before reading other people's answers. Then read the answers, and reflect over it one more time with both your previous reflection and any newfound knowledge and insight from other people in mind. Then share what you find.

'tis but my opinion, though, people may go ahead as they wish :P

Am strongly looking forward to this initiative!

Very well said!

Lesson suggestions:

- Lesson in writing good dialog
- Lesson in flow and pacing (of the writing itself, not the plot)

Originally Posted by Llama_Guy

- Lesson in flow and pacing (of the writing itself, not the plot)

I definitely agree with this. People often compliment me on my writing style and its flow, but, honestly, it's not something I do on purpose.

Flow of your writing is something that generally comes with experience more than anything else, and then your innate mastery of writing. Those reasons are aspects we rarely reflect over having, as they come naturally as we do something, they don't come as much through focused efforts on those aspects.

That said, there are tons of useful tips for chipping away at some of the most noticeable errors (blocky and run-on sentences, passive tense and so on), which is why I'm requesting such a lesson (also, because I'm touching this in the lesson I'm currently writing about description).

Well, I guess I do at least have experience on my side. I started writing fan fiction back in 2008.

I was just wondering... I mean before I heard about this project I had a few ideas of my own to share -and I'm not the only one- they very much resemble the concept of the academy were you give lessons, but in my case it was more like guides or outlines. The ideas were also specific and detailed, not general like the previously sticky-ed thread "A Guide to Good Writing".

So I was wondering, since you guys started the academy... what should I do exactly with these guides?

Originally Posted by Sai

I was just wondering... I mean before I heard about this project I had a few ideas of my own to share -and I'm not the only one- they very much resemble the concept of the academy were you give lessons, but in my case it was more like guides or outlines. The ideas were also specific and detailed, not general like the previously sticky-ed thread "A Guide to Good Writing".

So I was wondering, since you guys started the academy... what should I do exactly with these guides?

PM me.

Perhaps we can talk about you being a contributor to the Academy if you are willing.

I would just like to make clear that AceTrainer14 is now in charge of this project. Anyone who is interested in contributing should PM him with their ideas etc.

I'll be posting this month's Academy very soon.

There will be no lesson this month due to there being less moderators than usual and we have to work on the Awards. It should return next month!

How about a lesson in writing a good review for other peoples work. I've only done one review but I'd like to know things to look out for and hopefully be able to write better ones in the future.

Originally Posted by Caite-chan

How about a lesson in writing a good review for other peoples work. I've only done one review but I'd like to know things to look out for and hopefully be able to write better ones in the future.

Like constructive criticism? That'd be a neat idea.