I’m sitting in a little bit of a cloud today, high up in a tree. I attended a wonderful writing workshop yesterday. The critique of my work was heartening and careful in showing areas needing clarity. It was the greatest compliment of my work so far.
A workshop is successful if I learn something new. Certainly successful if I learn more ways to revise and improve my manuscripts all on my own.
Lessons learned lately include needing to be less anxious and in a rush to send manuscripts out to a writing buddy, a critique group, or even an editor. Relying more on my own voice is the direction I need to go. Knowing those workshop skills will come in handy. But, it is hard because of the craving for some kind of feedback.
Writers can get burned on their writing journey by showering too much energy on listening to everyone—except themselves. Writing by consensus does not encourage a strong voice, a true voice. And it is incredibly easy to lose yourself and your writing into a muddle. The world is filled with writers that are good enough, but not singular in voice. Attentive to what has been done and correct, but not about what is pushing out new boundaries.
Is the problem that we write alone for hours on end? Do we need a social interaction more than writing satisfaction? Maybe it is a validation that we are writers, part of a group. Or is it a deeper problem, that we lack confidence in our writing?
Writing speaks most clearly to the person who has written it. In the end, it is all about the process of art and moving that clarity to a place that speaks to many people. It is as far as anyone can be from post-structuralism. It is creation of one voice.
Writers do not have any say on how the writing will be understood once published. All readers will see something different. Don’t invite too many people into the process. This is not about ignoring learning craft. One has to read, read, read. Go everywhere you can to learn. Listen to those who have earned a place as a master writer. The right critique can push a writer toward being clear and focused. However, the writer must stand tall in her or his vision.
Essential in the endeavor of writing is writing to find self. What is life, but to see, to really know what is more true? So, we write, bound in the chains of our everyday selves. Success beyond expectations can only be found in the breaking of those chains and boundaries. And there is the problem for a writer. We still need to be heard. To be a sturdy tree in a forest, but in a forest that is seen.
