For Alan Ziegler, the writers’ workshop
is a vital part of the creative process. It is, he believes, possible to
teach writing, but as he says, the question is, ‘can writing be
learned?’ It might depend on the learner, but he is certain that
the writing workshop is a means of facilitating learning. This book
is aimed at people who are taking, or thinking of taking, a writing
workshop, at workshop teachers, and even at those who prefer the
solitary writing life but also seek some of the benefits of the workshop
experience.
This is not a conventional book about writing
practice; those who seek simple, straightforward explanations about how
to do X or Y may find it puzzling or indeed pointless. The key to this
book is in its title, the word ‘notebook’. In trying to explore the
workshop experience Ziegler realised that he would have to first deal
with what he calls ‘the heart that sustains the workshop’s brain: the
act of creation’. Consequently, Part One of this book, entitled
‘Notes on Creating’, is a series of meditations on different aspects of
the writing life. Ziegler invites the reader to work straight through or
dip in and out as seems appropriate.
‘Why bother?’ asks the first note. Why
indeed? Ziegler explores the impulses that drive us to write, and
sometimes to not write. Not-writing is, in his view, just as important
as writing, and a number of the creative notes look at what happens when
a writer finds that the words simply aren’t flowing as he or she would
like. At other times the words just won’t stop flowing, but the end
result isn’t always what the writer anticipated. No written word is ever
wasted, suggests Ziegler; it’s just that sometimes you don’t realise
what it was you were writing.
Interlude 1 follows up the ideas and
meditations of Part 1 with what Ziegler calls ‘no-risk, risk-taking
exercises’, ways for the writer to find inspiration or test ideas
through simple yet ingenious and imaginative writing exercises.
Interlude 2 focuses the writer’s attention on the business of revision,
preparing texts for a workshop. Again, the exercises are simple but
powerful.
And finally, the workshop begins.
In part 2, Ziegler’s tone is more practical, providing advice on how to
run a workshop and how to get the best out of a workshop, as teacher or
as participant, as critic or as recipient of comment. Again, he
takes a meditative approach – and, in part, any writers’ workshop is as
much a matter of thinking about texts as about writing them – but now
the notes are much more focused on the task at hand. Ziegler covers the
workshop from all angles, including the etiquette of workshopping a
piece, working as part of a group and being respectful of but honest
about one another’s work. He also discusses the most effective ways of
delivering and receiving feedback and criticism, and how to utilise that
input in improving one’s work. In the end, as he notes, what it is most
important to take away from a workshop is the momentum to keep on
writing.
This is an unconventional book about
writing, inspirational as much as it is practical, and focusing on an
aspect of the writing process that isn’t much discussed. It would, I
think, prove a valuable addition to the writing bookshelf if you are at
all interested in the workshopping process and what it involves.
