Sometimes when you think you are done, it is just the edge of beginning. Probably that's why we decide we're done. It's getting too scary. We are touching down onto something real. It is beyond the point when you think you are done that often something strong comes out.
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Interpretive Writing Intensive
Early Bird Registration is open!
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October 11-16, 2010
Wilder-Nest Retreats
Loveland, CO
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Beginnings &
Discovering the Story
So I'm sitting in the "hot seat" of my playwriting workshop--the place you sit when your work is under review by your supportive but oh-so-honest fellow playwrights--and I'm really struggling. Not with the feedback per se--I'm a tough old bird when it comes to critiques--but with how to make sense of it. The comments are all over the place, and I can't figure out if something's really wrong and, if so, what exactly is wrong or what to do about it.
Sometimes wide-ranging or conflicting feedback means there's nothing wrong with what you've written. You've simply created something thought-provoking, emotionally compelling, and weird. Your approach to the topic or the way you've organized the story, the tone or tactic you've used to explore the interpretive theme, is unusual. Your reviewers haven't seen it done this way before, and it will take some time for them to read beyond their everyday expectations. (Whether they ever will, and what to do if they're in a position to nix the story in its present, brilliant, form is a topic for another day.)
But most of the time, the feedback means something isn't working. Your reviewers are responding intuitively to a problem. They don't know exactly what the problem is or how to solve it, but they want to help. So you get comments like, "I'm not sure about the flashlights. They're funny, but maybe there are too many of them." And, "I like when Mary gets a beer, but maybe John shouldn't fall out the window." Or, "Setting it in Kenai, Alaska works, but maybe we need to know that sooner." And, "Playing with the mythological stuff works but there needs to be more garlic."
 As the writer in the hot seat, my job is to listen, take notes,* and, when absolutely necessary, ask for clarification. After that, it's time to go back to my desk, figure out what to do with the comments, and rewrite what needs to be rewritten.
As I reviewed the comments, a pattern started to emerge: almost all of the "I liked X but maybe Y is a problem" comments addressed something in the first half of what I'd written. Almost all of the "This really worked" comments had to do with stuff that began on page 12--of a draft that's 15 pages total. There were almost no comments on anything in the middle--I suspect because my reviewers stopped paying attention for a couple of pages. Things picked up again on page 12.
I tried rewriting the first half, using the suggestions my reviewers gave me. Didn't work; I could see (and feel) that, although the words were different, the problems were still there. I didn't want to get rid of the dragging middle pages; their content was important. What to try next?
Ah! Just because the content is important doesn't mean I've got it in the right place. And just because I started the story where I did doesn't mean that that's the best place to begin. What was that about page 12? Turns out page 12 is really where this story  begins. It took 11 pages to get there, and even though some of the language in those 11 pages is lovely, those 11 pages have to go away, or at least go somewhere else. What's more, when I begin on page 12, the entire story is shorter--without losing content. All the draggy stuff in the middle? It's tighter and more effective in its later position. The "almost but doesn't quite work" stuff at the beginning? Turns out that a lot of it is unnecessary once I begin with a better beginning.
Classic story structure, described by Aristotle in Poetics, has a beginning, middle, and end, but where we begin writing often isn't the story's true beginning. Some days--most days, in fact--it takes a bunch of pages to reach that beginning. But once you discover it, it's like magic--the rest of the story falls into place.
Ask yourself: Is my opening line really the best beginning? Or is the beginning hiding somewhere farther in? What happens if I begin on page 12 or paragraph two or the last sentence instead?
Write a new beginning, and see where the magic takes you.
Comments? Questions?
Tell us!
970/416-6353
888/886-9289
*Taking notes is important for two reasons: First, it keeps your attention on the work and the content of the comments and off of our desire to defend our work or argue about the comments (also known as whining); and second, some of the comments will be exactly what you need to push this piece from pretty darn good to wow-that's-excellent.back to article
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October 11 - 16, 2010
4-day, 5-night
workshop
Arrive Monday between 3:00 & 6:00 p.m., October 11, 2010
Depart Saturday morning, October 16, 2010
Wilder-Nest Retreats  | back to top
Wilder-Nest
Retreats is in Northern Colorado, about 20 minutes west of Loveland and
Fort Collins, and about 90 minutes from Denver International Airport.
Important: Wilder-Nest Retreats has a limited number of rooms. If you want to stay in this beautiful bed and breakfast (we'll be meeting there every day), register now. Rooms are first-come, first-served. All-inclusive or commuter:
All-inclusive registration feeincludes 5 nights' lodging at Wilder-Nest Retreats (Monday night
through Saturday morning), 5 breakfasts, 4 lunches, and 4 suppers;
snacks, coffee, and tea; workshop and materials, one half-hour
individual consulting session, and instructor review of one previously
submitted writing sample. All-inclusive registration fee does not include transportation.
Commuter registration fee
includes parking at Wilder-Nest Retreats, 4 lunches, snacks, coffee,
and tea; workshop and materials, one half-hour individual consulting
session, instructor review of one previously submitted writing sample.
Commuter registration fee does not include lodging, breakfasts, suppers, or transportation. Single suppers are available for extra charge. REGISTER BY SEPTEMBER 15 and SAVE $200.00!
Early Bird Registration
All-Inclusive: $1479.00
Commuter: $949.00
REGISTER AFTER SEPTEMBER 15 and you still get a great deal!
Regular Registration
All-Inclusive: $1679.00
Commuter: $1479.00
GROUP RATES
Register three or more people at the same time and save an additional
$50 per person on Early Bird and Regular Registration. back to top
Wilder-Nest Retreats  |
Questions? Need more info?
Call Judy at 888/886-9289 (toll-free in the U.S.) or 970/416-6353, or email us. back to top
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The Interpretive Writing Intensive
covers
applying interpretive principles
to writing--
and much more!
Early Bird Registration Now Open
Register today & save $200!
Freeman Tilden said interpretive writing should be
"concise, focused, inspirational, and engaging."
Lofty goals for any writer!
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 What makes interpretive writing interpretive; How to create writing that connects with the reader; Techniques for strengthening language, including pacing, language use, and word choice; Strategies for organizing; How to write for any length or space; How to write for different media, different audiences, and different uses; How to write for maximum impact; How to write even if you think you can't; How to take your writing "off-site";
Humble punctuation; Accessing--and improving--creativity (or, the Muse will visit if chocolate is involved); Dealing with writer's block (or, how to get the Muse to visit if you're out of chocolate); and MORE.
Early Bird Registration Now through Sept. 15
Register now and save $200!
Register today to take advantage of the Early Bird discount--$2o0.00 off the regular registration! Register three or more people at the same time and save another $50 per person!
To
ensure a quality experience with plenty of individual attention,
workshop size is limited to 15 people. Registration is first-come,
first-served.
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we help you tell the story
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