Welcome to CWS7!
March 15 Craft
Seminar
March 22 Guest
Speaker
March 24 First
Draft Emailed to Sally/Sally Distributes Drafts for Critique
March 25 Ð 28 Writers Critique First Draft Manuscripts at
Home
March 29 First draft Writing
Workshop
April 2 Second
Draft Emailed to Sally/Sally Distributes Drafts for Critique
April 2 Ð 4
Writers Critique Second Draft Manuscripts at Home
April 5
Second Draft
Writing Workshop
April 5 Ð 11 Writers Prepare Final Draft
April 12 Final Draft
Reading & Celebration
Time: 0900 -
1100
Place:
Classroom 204, Building 596 Ð Education, MCAS Beaufort
Computer with
the ability to create Microsoft Word or Rich Text documents
Printer
An email
account
An idea
Writers create meaning. Writing is a process. Many writing teachers discuss writing as a process involving many steps. I like to keep things simple: Writing is a process of discovery, planning, drafting, polishing, and publishing.
During discovery, writers analyze their experiences and determine
what it is they will write about, what purpose the writing is to achieve
(Inform, Explore, Entertain, Persuade), and who is the audience for the work.
During planning, writers decide how they will present the work: which elements
(setting, characters, actions) to include, which to exclude; what research
might be needed; which form will be used to present the material Ð these are
but a few of the considerations involved in the planning phase of the writing
process. During planning, many writers use free writing to work their way into
intimacy with their subject. Others create brainstorm lists or cluster
diagrams. From these, they create outlines and, sometimes, beat sheets. Then
the drafting can begin. Adequate time spent planning saves time during
drafting. Drafting means revision. Writing is a process of revision,
re-visioning or re-seeing the experience or the work of the imagination in
literary terms. Once a writer is satisfied with his or her drafting work,
polishing begins: replacing one word with a better word, restructuring a phrase
or sentence for clarity, ensuring the reader will be left asking only those questions
the writer wants to leave the reader with and not those questions better
answered by the writer in the text. Publishing takes many forms. A story or
poem might be published in a magazine or book; a story might be read to a group
or published online. What is most important to remember is that each step of
the writing process is designed to achieve writing that a reader will want to
read: writing with clear meaning.
Writing Craft Seminars and Writing Workshops are tools used to
transform a writerÕs writing, to transform a writerÕs understanding of his or
her writing, and to transform a writerÕs understanding of his or her unique
writing process, a process modeled upon what has been briefly mentioned here, a
process that is modified by every writer to suit his or her needs. But before
modification of a proven process can begin, the basic process should be
dissected and understood. MCWS is designed to take you through the writing
process, to transform your understanding of your writing process and to transform
your writing. Anyone can write, but not everyone can be a good writer whose
work is loved and cherished Ð and read Ð by an audience. To be a good writer is
to learn to revise, to carry on the hard work of revision, and to re-see the
work through a readerÕs eyes.
MWCS is a simple program, but many of those who sign on decline to
participate after receiving the welcome email and realizing that writing is
hard work. We have fun, too. We all share a military life through one
connection or another, and so we all relate to one another. During workshop,
there has never been a subject thought of as offensive or off-limits. There has
never been a subject dealing with the military experience that has been placed
off limits. There has never been a subject too funny, too sad, or too painful
to share with one another.
Some MCWS participants drop out after the first or second class. I
hope you will consider your commitment to attend. During our five Saturdays
together, we bind into a tight group, all of us joined together by our
experience in the military. You will leave this workshop a better writer and a
better listener. You might even find a publisher for your work, as have some
participants. But if you do not have the time, energy, or ability to commit to
the five-week process, please let me know. I ask this because the quality of
each writerÕs work depends on the willingness of the others in the group to
read each piece carefully, with consideration and respect, and to do the best
they can to provide helpful comments for improving the work. You donÕt have to
be an expert to critique. The only requirement is an ability to read, to think,
and to follow up with constructive questions of the work and comments on the
text.
Now is the time to RSVP. If at this time you do not feel
comfortable with committing to join this group and to the hard writing work
that we will engage in, please let me know by email. If you decide not to
participate in this CWS, you are always welcome to sign on for the next one. If
you are prepared to engage in a writing adventure that you will never forget,
one that will help you grow as a writer, please let me know by email that you
wish to remain enrolled. If you have decided to participate, please include in
your RSVP email a few lines about the genre you will be working with and what
you might choose to write about during MCWS.
Here is a brief rundown of our schedule.
During the March 15 (First Saturday) Craft Seminar,
each of you will receive a booklet of handouts and writing examples. We will
discuss the handouts, writing process, and writing techniques and strategies,
as well as topic ideas for your manuscripts (mss). Following the Craft Seminar,
writers will work at home on first draft mss written in the genre of their
choice: nonfiction, fiction, or poetry.
On March 22 (Second Saturday), a guest speaker will discuss creating a writing life, the writing process, and field questions from the audience. We will also discuss issues of first draft development.
On March 24 (a Monday), by 5:30 p.m., writers will email to me their first draft mss. I will divide the manuscripts among writers in the group for critique and email mss to each participant. Writers will not have more than three mss to critique. I read each ms, critique it, and provide written comments to each writer. Writers print out only the mss they are assigned. Using the critique guidelines everyone receives and discusses during the Craft Seminar, writers critique the mss theyÕve been assigned. Mss and written comments are brought to the First Draft Writing Workshop (March 29/Third Saturday). During workshop, each writerÕs work is discussed within his or her assigned group. Writers carry home from workshop all the critiqued copies of their work received from their critique group and from me. These critiques and points taken from discussion of the work during workshop are used to revise the first draft ms into second draft form.
Second Drafts are emailed to me by 5:30 p.m. April 2 (a Tuesday) for distribution to the critique group, and the critique process is repeated, with Second Draft Workshop being held April 5 (Fourth Saturday).
Using critique comments, writers revise second draft mss into a polished final draft. Final Drafts should be emailed to me by April 11 (a Friday), along with permission to publish the draft on the Milspeak website if the writer wants their work published. Final draft mss are not distributed.
On April 12 (Fifth Saturday), we will either meet in the morning in the classroom, or in the evening at the OfficerÕs Club, depending on the groupÕs decision about where to hold our Final Reading Celebration. We will take a vote during our first meeting.
If you would like to read work produced by past participants,
please visit the Milspeak website at http://www.milspeak.org.
There you will also find examples of some of our handouts and a journal
recording the events of past seminars. I am looking forward to meeting each of
you and to working with you during MCWS7.
Sincerely,
Sally
Subject and
theme should be based on some aspect of military life. We will talk more about
subject and theme during the Craft Seminar. In order to make the critiquing
process easier on everyone, your work should be formatted using the following
guidelines.
Manuscript
Guidelines for Prose (Fiction and Nonfiction)
Length: Five to
ten pages
Typed, using 12
point Times New Roman font
Double-spaced with
one-inch margins (Top, Bottom, and Sides of Page)
Include a Title
Place your name
and page number on each page (top right corner preferred)
Save and email
ms (as an attachment) in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf)
Maximum of Five
poems
One poem per
page
Typed, using 12
point Times New Roman font
Double-spaced
with one-inch margins (Top, Bottom, and Sides of Page)
Place your name
and page number on each page (top right corner preferred)
Save and email ms
(as an attachment) in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf)