Honing your Craft: How Workshops can help

After a partial professional edit for my current WIP, my editor suggested I check out a few writing workshops. Actually, her exact words were "workshop the hell out of this baby" ... meaning my manuscript. Needless to say, I've taken her advice and I'm one of the 4 people accepted into the First Five Pages Writing Workshop for the month of November. You can check out the entries here:   http://firstfivepagesworkshop.blogspot.com

Tension

So after the excitement wore off, I realised just how much work I was in for. Started with 'tension.' My editor had mentioned this to me briefly but prior to the workshop I must confess I hadn't given it much attention. My primary focus was the telling of the story. However, I since learned that tension is very much a part of that. A story should never just sail along with obstacle, challenge, danger, fear - this is the stuff that will keep readers interested enough to turn to the next page. If an agent says "The story doesn't have enough tension for me," it's bad news. Think of ways to introduce more conflict and raise the stakes. This will literally keep readers at the edge of their seats. 

Point of View

Another thing I learnt more about is POVs. Coming into the workshop I pretty much assumed POVs only consisted of First Person and Third Person. When writing my manuscript I pretty much based it on my favourite book to read which I assumed was Third Person ( you know ). I was surprised to find out I was actually writing in Third person Omniscient, the difference is the narrator head hops between characters, sometimes several times in one scene. Now if you're not a skilled writer, the obvious problem is readers will get confused. So I've since amended my MS, sticking with Third Person Limited, which also has its drawbacks. Sometimes it can feel like you're watching the story unfold on a screen, like you yourself aren't living the experience along with the character. When this happens you have to look for ways to pull the reader into the character's emotions, you do this improved writing.

Character's Distinct Voice

In order to achieve the perfect voice for your main characters, you need to really know them. Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

-Age

-Confidence level? (Is your character assertive or more likely to let someone else take the lead)

-Motivation

-personality (funny, serious, thoughtful, a mix)

-Hobbies (What's your character like doing? What's he or she good at?)

-Inner voice (What things do your characters think about?)

Of course, sometimes even when knowing all of the above, you can still make mistakes; case in point, I originally started my MS as Middle Grade, only to decide it would fit better as Young Adult, however, much of the language didn't reflect that. The workshop helped point out these issues with suggestions on how to correct them. I can't stress how much I've enjoyed the helpful feedback and tips I've received, even if though I'm not likely to win the coveted prize of having an agent critique my first chapter, I've already won just by participating.

So newbies looking to hone your skills, do search for and participate in free workshops. You won't regret it!