10 Writing Tips From My Sewanee Writers Workshop I am Actually Using in My Current Writing Projects

In post-MFA writerly communities, the Sewanee Writers Conference in Tennessee is one of those well-known target brands that attracts a high caliber of emerging and established writers, as it  offers tiers of funded fellowships, scholarships, and subsidized participation. It ain’t cheap for regular-schmegular “participants,” but all things considered– two full weeks of room and board, a stellar group of workshop facilitators and visitors, and  a robust staff supporting social and extracurricular events– it’s a bargain.  The corporate side of me can assess the monetary ROI at some later date, but like many good summer workshop experiences, its primary value is the community it brings together, especially for those of us for whom writing is largely an isolated pursuit, outside the walls of the world’s gated literary institutions.

I’ve had a few months to process all the specific feedback given to me and all the other participants In my particular workshop this past summer.  I’ve noticed some of that insight making its way into my current writing, which has been cool to see. A list of takeaways that are staying with me are below.

All Saints’ Chapel on the campus of the University of the South

But before that, a note on considering applying to and going to Sewanee if you’re a non-MFA older writer, a bit removed from academia and the younger “emerging writer” culture: it is an overall worthwhile experience. My workshop group was engaged, accomplished, thoughtful, and yes, diverse in a number of ways. We had some workshop drama–personalities and outlooks are inevitably going to clash when a random group is put together– but within the confines of two short weeks, all was addressed  by our facilitators.  If nothing else, the  classroom drama gave our “Under the BIPOC Tree” cohort plenty of material for inside jokes, both during the conference and in our group chat afterward.

Beyond the workshops and classes,  The University of the South, i.e. Sewanee,  and the surroundings are a wonder. In the midst of these rolling Tennessee hills, is this little well-funded gothic oasis, which, on the face of things, seems to have embraced its challenging history head-on and openly, landing not just in a muddy middle of platitudes.  It was nice to have access to the library, the dorms were fine,  and the food was a mix of really good to “we’re just running out of ideas and the funds are low so let’s serve squash one more time.”   I did get pulled over by the Sewanee Police for supposedly slow-rolling a stop sign. The poor officers looked like they were happy to have something to do in the sleepy town. I nodded towards my DC license plate and gave them a “really?” and they dismissed me with a sheepish warning.  Anyway.. My top pieces of writing insights and feedback from our workshop discussions:

1. 1. 1. Speed up. Remove unnecessary details and keep the forward momentum going. Improving pacing is a good thing to work on during revisions I am finding out.
      2. Slow down. Another pacing note but one more focused on plotting.  I took this as making sure  not to give away the “story” too quickly and not feeling the need to wrap up chapters and scenes with tight bows. 
      3. Identify and turn up the heat. Plots are propelled by moments of tension and emotion. Don’t hedge; go to the “heat” and turn it up. 
      4. Trust you readers. They  will get the “joke”, they will  understand your nuance, they will buy into your fantastical worlds. Trust their smarts.
      5. Withhold information. There is always lots of fodder in writing books  about this, but it’s a nice reminder to have during the creation process.
      6.  Carry some secrets. Secrets create tension,  can align with and spur motivations. These you don’t necessarily have to withhold from the reader. Literary irony is one of my favorite storytelling devices in novels and films, but you have to think about it intentionally, can’t quite be a “panster” and pull it off effectively.
      7. Give your main characters some not so popular opinions. Challenge the instinct of creating only flawless heroes.
      8. Add dimension to secondary characters. Tropes of all kinds are easy to fall into. Humanize those supporting characters. Make them feel, get angry, and challenge  protagonists. Also,  everybody wants something. Make even the most minor characters have that human need.
      9. Do some homework. Explore all kinds of resources now available digitally. Old photos, phone books, magazines, and city directories are great resources  for writing historical fiction.
      10. Create a sense of place. Be somewhere and be specific about it. Tell the story as if the setting is a character and as if your story couldn’t be told in any other place. 

   

   

   
   
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